


I'd Only Choose You

by MiyaWritesThings



Series: New Planet, New Life [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Earth, Engagement, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Hospitalization, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Romance, Wedding Planning, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-29
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 08:54:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 24,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/822424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiyaWritesThings/pseuds/MiyaWritesThings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat and Terezi have lived on Earth for several months now, and their relationship has strengthened greatly. So Karkat decides to ask Terezi something very important...with a ring involved. Alternate ending to Alone Together Forever by adiosToredor, after chapter 8.</p><p>I was 12 when I wrote this, but don't plan on rewriting it so I can go back and see my progress.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Alone Together Forever](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/22373) by adiosToredor. 



> So! First off, I tend to go on and on about things no one cares about. This is the first thing I'm posting on AO3. "I'd Only Choose You" was originally posted on FF.net. (formally VocaloidAnimeFreak) Excuse me if I do anything "wrong" because I haven't read enough fics on here to really get how things work over here.
> 
> If you haven't read the original, I highly suggest you do so you'll understand what's going on here. But if you don't feel like it, I'll just summarize what happened and how the heck they got on Earth in a non-detailed and not as exciting way:
> 
> -Everyone found out about Karkat's blood and shunned him  
> -Terezi "killed" Vriska so she was shunned as well  
> -Karkat convinced her to go to Earth with him, with John's permission, of course
> 
> Also, I have a few 300-word chapters. Eventually the chapters get long(er), but since I was like 12 when I wrote this I kind of didn't want to get too detailed.
> 
> Have fun.

Karkat looked at the clock as he came home from work. It was only 10:15. Terezi didn't expect him to be back until eleven.

He took off his hat and messed up his neatly combed hair. Now that he had a job, his boss made him comb it, which he hated more than anything. Terezi didn't like it much either.

"I think I'll have time to run to John's hi—ugh, _house_ ," he said to himself. "I need to ask him anyway."

When Karkat got to John's house, he sighed before he knocked on the door. John yawned as he opened it. "God, Karkat! You don't go over to someone's house, _without asking_ , at 10:30 at night!"

"Sorry," Karkat sarcastically replied. He went inside, totally ignoring John. "If you don't mind, I need to ask you something. In private."

"You're being unusually polite," John said. "Sure, come with me. You'll have to be quiet, my dad's asleep."

Karkat sat down in a chair in John's room. John sat on his bed across from Karkat.

"So?" John asked. "What is it you need to ask me?" He took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with his shirt.

"Well, uh..." Karkat began. "You know how Terezi and I have been mate—ugh, I mean, _'dating'_ for a while, right?"

John nodded. "Yeah?"

"Well, I've been thinking for the past few days, I want Terezi and I to become more than matesprits—fuck, _'boyfriend and girlfriend'_ —like, what you humans call 'getting married.'"

"Holy—!" John exclaimed. "Karkat, I don't think you understand! You don't do things like that right away! And besides, how old are you guys anyway?!"

"Eight sweeps."

"Um, I'm guessing that's about eighteen human years, it looks like it, so you guys _are_ the legal age, but...what are you thinking!?"

" _I don't fucking know_! She's the only other troll on this shitty planet of yours, might as well, no human would want to marry an ugly dumbass like me!"

John sighed.

"John," Karkat continued, "just tell me the basics of this whole 'marriage' thing."

"Well, uh," John uneasily began, "first off, there's a ring."

"A ring?"

"Yeah. The guy always buys the girl a ring. Not one of those cheap plastic ones, I mean one of those really expensive ones with real jewels and gold and all that stuff."

"Expensive? Fuck, I don't think I make enough to afford a nice one..."

"Oh, there's several ways you can get one."

"How?"

"It's long and complicated, I'd rather not go into detail."

"Okay." Karkat paused a moment. "What else?"

"Well," John replied, "once the guy buys the ring for the girl, he takes her somewhere special, where he proposes to her."

"Proposes?"

"He gets down on one knee, pulls out the ring, and asks, 'Will you marry me?'."

"Oh, okay. That seems easy."

"I'm not so sure about that."

Karkat stopped. "And how do you know all this stuff?"

John coughed.

The door to John's bedroom opened and his dad peeked his head inside. "John, what are you doing up? It's almost 10:45, you don't need to have friends over!"

"Oh, sorry Dad," John said. "Karkat just needed to talk to me."

"That's fine," his father replied, "just try to talk quieter, okay?" He yawned and shut the door.

"Um, I'm pretty sure you can just Google everything else," John told Karkat.

"Thanks." Karkat looked at the wall clock. "I'm usually home by eleven, so I don't want to worry Terezi or anything."

"Okay. Just ask me if you need anything."

"See ya."


	2. Chapter 2

"Mr. Vantas."

Cameron Jones, Karkat's boss, stopped at his workstation.

"Come with me. I need to talk to you for a minute.

Karkat sighed and followed his boss into his office.

"I've noticed you've been slacking some, Mr. Vantas," Mr. Jones said. "What's going on?"

Karkat signed. "I'm sorry," he hissed without totally meaning to, "I'm just nervous. I'm going to propose to my girlfriend soon, and I'm worried she might say no."

Mr. Jones smiled. "How about I let you take the rest of the day off?"

Karkat sighed with relief. "Thank you so much, sir."

"Hope everything goes well."

* * *

 

Karkat rushed from work to the nearest jewelers. "She likes the color red," he mumbled to himself. "John said rubies are red. And to get a gold band."

As he came inside, everyone in the store stopped to look at Karkat. "He-hello," a woman at the front counter said, "how may I help you...?"

"Um, hi," Karkat replied. "Uh, I need to look at some rings, like...engagement rings?"

The woman smiled. "Oh, well, you've come to the right place! Follow me."

* * *

 

Karkat had enough time on his hands to wait for the ring to be made. As he walked back to the apartment, he wondered where he would take Terezi to propose.

I suppose a nice restaurant would be okay, he thought. Oh, and we could go on a walk together, and I could propose to her then.

Karkat unlocked the apartment door and came in. "Karkat, you're onetime early!" Terezi exclaimed.

Karkat blushed. "Um, I want to take ou somewhere to eat," he managed to get out.

"Karkles!" Terezi threw her arms around Karkat's neck. "That's so nice of you!" She paused. "Are you blushing?"

"Let's go," Karkat told her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is said 300-word chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

_She's so…cute,_ Karkat thought as the two walked to a fancy Italian restaurant downtown.

A few days after they had first arrived on Earth, John had told Karkat and Terezi that normal people didn't wear the same clothes every day. So he took Karkat and Terezi to Target and Wal-Mart and such to buy some clothes for the two of them.

Today Terezi was wearing a teal peasant blouse tied at the waist with a matching sash, with black skinny jeans. Karkat was wearing a grey t-shirt with grey jeans and grey Vans—totally inappropriate for a fancy restaurant but the only thing he could picture himself wearing.

Karkat coughed and nervously took Terezi's hand. She blushed, tealish blood coloring her cheeks.

The two had a nice pleasant meal together, each trying something they had never tried (or heard of, for that matter). Karkat didn't even mind having to pay an extra $8.50 for cake—a slice!

After dinner, Karkat and Terezi slowly walked through the park. "This is...nice," Terezi admitted after fifteen minutes.

"Yeah," Karkat replied. "Nice because we're alone together." He stopped in front of the fountain, Terezi stopping right behind him. "Speaking of which, I need to ask you something."

Terezi perked up.

Karkat cleared his throat. "I've been thinking for a while, about you and me. At first I thought living together would be terrible, but now I wouldn't go back to my own hive for anything in the universe! All of that made me think, 'Well, why don't we be together forever?'. Terezi, I'd like to become more than matesprits. More than just 'boyfriend and girlfriend'."

He pulled a small black box out of his pocked, got down on one knee, and asked, "Terezi, will you marry me?"

Terezi threw her arms around Karkat, knocking him to the ground. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him.

Karkat's eyes widened. He felt his face get hot.

Their lips parted.

"Yes."

Karkat grabbed Terezi's left hand and slid the ring onto her finger.

Then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. "I love you."

"I love you too." Terezi paused. "You're gonna have to help me with this 'marriage' thing. I don't know much about it apart from what John told us."

"Haha, I don't either. Something to do with becoming, um...legally inseparable?"  
The two burst out laughing.

"Sounds great to me!" Terezi exclaimed.

Karkat took her hand. "C'mon. Let's go back to the apartment."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had to rewrite this chapter because when I first wrote it, I was still a relatively new Homestuck who had just finished Act 5 Act 1 or something and hadn't read too many fanfictions. I'm still unhappy with the outcome but whatever. It's one of those chapters where no matter how embarrassing it is, it's still needed for the story to move along.
> 
> Keep in mind, if you haven't read any of my other works, I do this kind of stuff a lot.

The next morning, Karkat went to work before Terezi even woke up. When she finally did, she sat up in bed and sighed. Why did Karkat have to work such long and unusual hours? If it was to make more money, why couldn't shejust get a job to help? Sure, John had told her it was somewhat sterotypical for the woman—or "wife"—to stay at home while the man—"husband"—worked, and that no one would hire a blind girl, but still...why couldn't she? No one but John, Karkat, and Karkat's boss knew she was blind.

Damn... Karkat's boss... If he somehow found out Terezi had a job if she did end up getting one, he would think both Karkat and John were liars and question both of them. She didn't want to risk both of them getting fired... That would terminate most of the chances of Karkat making any money for the two of them.

But still... Getting a job wouldn't be a bad idea...

Karkat let out a silent sigh as he inputted a customer's order into the computer. Sure, it was a very easy task, but he hated being nice to people when he really didn't feel like it.

"I'll take the next customer, please," he said in a monotone, obviously bored voice.

"Yes, I'll have a number one with fries and a medium drink."

"Will that be all?"

"What do you think...Karkles?"

Karkat looked up. "Terezi?"

Terezi smirked. "Hi."

"You know you're not supposed to be here while I'm working! I'm not really mad or anything, but if my boss sees you here he'll think I was lying about you being blind!"

"Why can't you just tell him the truth?"

"It's not fucking normal!" Karkat whispered in Terezi's ear.

He paused. "My lunch break's in five minutes. I'll add stuff to the order, and I'll meet you at one of the tables outside, okay?"

"Okay." Terezi pulled $20 out of her pocket and held it out for Karkat.

"Lunch is on me," Karkat said, pushing the money back to her. He handed her the cups. "I'll have a root beer."

"Okay. I'll see you in five minutes."

After he was finished with his first five hours of work, Karkat joined Terezi at a table outside.

"Why do you have to work such long shifts?" Terezi complained.

"Hey, I don't exactly like it either!" Karkat dipped a chicken McNugget in sweet & sour sauce and took a bite. "I need to get a better job. I feel so shitty working like twelve hours a day, six days a week, and we still have to borrow money from John's human lus—father."

"Maybe if I—" Terezi stopped short and started laughing.

"What?" Karkat growled. He touched a hand to the corner of his mouth and stopped. "Gog, I have ketchup on my mouth, I feel like an idiot—"

Before he could continue, Terezi leaned over the table and licked the ketchup off Karkat's mouth.

"What the fuck was that?" Karkat exclaimed in a whisper.

"You know how much I love doing that..." Terezi mumbled.

"Terezi, it's just, well, we're in public, and humans don't do that kind of stuff..."

"Sorry, I'm just almost never outside that gogdamn apartment, so I have very little of any idea how to behave here!"

"Well, I would take you out more, but I have to work half the day six days a week!"

"Exactly! If I got a job, you could work less so we could spend more time together!"

"Terezi, I'd be all for you getting a job if you weren't a blind girl who got her stupid motherfucking tongue on everything she smelled!"

"Oh, great, now you're blaming me!" Terezi grabbed her cane and jabbed Karkat in the foot with it. "Fuck you!" She turned around and walked away.

As Terezi disappeared from sight, Karkat turned around and kicked the trash can.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why do I do things like this. They embarrass me.
> 
> This is also one of those 300-word chapters I mentioned.

Karkat angrily unlocked the apartment door and practically slammed it behind him. He took off his shoes and threw them across the room-one just bouncing off the wall, the other knocking a lamp off a table and breaking it. ((lol karkat))

"Shit!" he yelled, and went into the bedroom to change out of his work clothes.

Terezi was huddled under the sheets in the bed. She groaned when she heard Karkat open the closet door. Karkat shot her a pissed-off look and yanked a shirt and a pair of jeans off their hangers.

Terezi slowly inhaled and exhaled as Karkat dressed right in front of her. He took off his pants and her heart almost stopped. Were his boxers...red? Karkat only wore his red boxers when he wanted to—

"Karkat?" Terezi whispered. "Why are you wearing your red boxers?"

"Fuck!" Karkat hurried to get his jeans on.

"Don't you only wear those when you want to—"

"Yeah, I know! I would do it, but I'm still kind of pissed off at you!"

"Why don't you want to do it?"

"Well, I don't see a reason not to, but I thought you were-"

"Karkat." Terezi held up her left hand. "I haven't taken off this ring since the second you asked me to marry you. I'm not mad at you at all, I guess I just freaked out earlier..."

Karkat walked over to the bed and hugged Terezi. Terezi sighed with pleasure and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Oh, Karkles," she sighed.

Karkat broke away from the hug just to close the bedroom door.

"Terezi," Karkat said as he stared up at the ceiling, "I've decided to work only two hours of overtime instead of four. That'll mean I'll only work ten hours instead of twelve, and I'll get to spend more time with you."

Terezi smiled. "That's great." She paused. "Karkat, I don't want to start up what happened this earlier today again, but...I've made up my mind. I'm going to get a job."

Karkat laughed. "That's...great, I guess," he replied. "But you'll still have to be careful. You'll have to make sure my boss doesn't see you, but otherwise, I guess it won't be too hard to hide..."

"Finally." Terezi leaned over and gave Karkat a tiny kiss on the lips.

Karkat smiled. "I love you."

"I love you more."

"I love you most."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eep I don't know why I like this chapter so much. I just think it's adorable.

Terezi woke up the next morning surprised to find Karkat sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" she asked.

"Yeah, but..." Karkat stood up. "...I called in sick."

"But...you seem fine..."

"I am. I'm going to help you find a job."

Terezi smiled and threw her arms around him.

The two walked around town, looking for jobs Terezi could do without giving away too much. Unfortunately, by lunchtime, they had found nothing.

"Let's go and stop for lunch," Karkat decided. "I'm starving."

"Works for me," Terezi replied. "Where should we eat?"

"Burger King?" Karkat suggested. "Wait, fuck, you had a hamburger for lunch yesterday..."

"I like Chinese food," Terezi said.

"When have you ever eaten Chinese food?"

"I ordered it for takeout once."

"Oh, okay. Um, I think there's a Chinese bistro on the corner of this street and some street ahead..."

"Yeah, Red Dragon."

"...What?"

"Red Dragon. That's the name of the restaurant."

Karkat laughed. "God, I'm an idiot!"

Karkat snapped his chopsticks in half and threw them on the floor. "Fuck this shit!" he cursed a little too loudly, as several tables of people turned their heads in the direction of the two trolls.

"Karkat," Terezi said, "let me show you how to hold your chopsticks." She stood up and leaned across the table...accidentally knocking her drink over, spilling it in Karkat's lap.

Karkat gave Terezi a playful "Oh really?" look, then picked up his drink and splashed it in her face.

Terezi squealed and wiped the sticky root beer off of her face. She laughed as she removed an ice cube from her hair.

The whole restaurant turned their heads to look at the couple in the center of the building who were splashing their drinks on each other.

Finally, the owner noticed what was going on over at table 7. Angry but calm and collected, she silently walked over to Karkat and Terezi's table and opened her mouth to speak...

...just as Karkat splashed his drink again.

Terezi ducked, and the root beer soaked the poor lady who was just asking the two to stop and leave!

Karkat looked up. "...Sorry..." he mumbled.

The owner sighed with frustration. "Well, at first, I was just going to ask both of you to please leave and never come back," she began, "but now I'm going to ask you to please pay for the damages you've done!"

"Damages...?"

"Stained carpet, ruined chairs."

"How much will the total cost be...?" Karkat uneasily asked.

"Oh, I'd estimate about $1200."

"$1200!" Karkat exclaimed, almost flipping his shit right there. "I'm sorry, but I really don't make enough to pay it off!"

"Either you pay it off, or you work here long enough to pay it off," the manager said.

"Work here? Um, I already have a job, and I work—"

"I'll do it."

Both Karkat and the manager stared at Terezi with surprise.

"Are you sure?" the two exclaimed in unison.

Terezi nodded. "Karkat, you know how hard I've been trying to get a job within the past weeks, and this may be my only chance!"

"Oh, I'm sorry to tell you this," the owner said, "but I'm not actually hiring you."

Terezi's face fell. "...Oh..."

"But if I like you, I might keep you." The manager smiled. "You'll start tomorrow at 11 a.m."

"Alright, thank you!"


	7. Chapter 7

The next evening, when Karkat returned from work, Terezi was happier than ever.

"How was work?" Karkat asked.

Terezi beamed. "Really, really good!"

"What'd you do?"

"Well," she began, "first I helped set the tables, then I cleaned up the tables, and finally the manager let me seat people!"

"Sounds like you had fun."

"A lot! I love working!"

Terezi paused. "Wait...isn't John supposed to be coming over at 7?"

"Shit!" Karkat slapped his hand to his forehead. "Gogdammit, I totally forgot! Terezi, do you think you could maybe try to clean up a little while I get changed?"

"Sure."

Karkat nodded and went into the bedroom. Terezi sighed and got up off the couch. What to do, what to do...

Terezi opened the pantry and pulled out a bag of popcorn. She stuck it in the microwave just as Karkat walked out of the bedroom.

"I started popping some popcorn," she began. "Do you think that'll be okay for tonight?"  
"Yeah," Karkat replied. "Pop another bag just in case."

Terezi nodded and opened a cabinet and grabbed a huge plastic bowl-perfect for holding lots of party snacks. As soon as the first bag of popcorn was done, she poured it into the bowl and put another bag in the microwave.

Karkat messed up his hair a little more and threw the ugly pillows back on the couch. "Do we have any root beer?"

Terezi opened the fridge. "Yeah." She pulled out several bottles and set them on the counter. As soon as she did that she emptied the other bag of popcorn into the giant plastic bowl.

Just then the buzzer buzzed. Karkat ran over to the speaker on the wall by the door and pressed the button.

"Yeah?"

"Karkat, can you buzz me in?" John.

"Yeah." Karkat did so.

A few minutes later John knocked on the door. Karkat, who had been waiting by the door since John had asked to be buzzed in, answered it.

"Come in," he sighed, and opened the door.

"Shit," Karkat mumbled. He coughed and looked up. "Hey, Dave..."

"Vantas." Dave just walked inside the apartment.

John sighed. "Sorry I didn't mention Dave was coming," he said. "I just didn't want you to freak out or anything..."

Karkat also sighed. "That's...okay." He opened the door wider. "Terezi's in the kitchen preparing snacks. They should be ready by now."

"Cool." John came inside the apartment. "Wow, you haven't done much with the place since when you two first moved in."

Karkat rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know," he said in an annoyed tone. "It's not my fault I'm never home!"

John opened his mouth to say something, but Dave cut him off.

"Yo Vantas," he said as he what looked like murdered the TV remote, "how the hell do you turn this thing on?"

"Oh, give me that!" Karkat went over to the couch and snatched the remote from Dave's hands. "I asked John to come over so we could talk, not to sit around and watch shitty TV!"

Dave raised an eyebrow. "What's so fucking important that you'd need to call Egbert over here to talk about?"

Karkat turned to John. "He doesn't know?" he asked. "He seriously doesn't know?" John shook his head.

Karkat started laughing, very unusual for being in front of both John and Dave. "Wow, Dave, I can't believe you don't know!"

"Know what?" Dave asked in a monotone voice.

Karkat smiled from all the laughing. "Terezi, come here."

"Hm?" Terezi turned around and came to stand by Karkat.

Karkat grabbed Terezi's left hand.

"Is that a ring?" Dave asked.

"We're getting married." Karkat pulled Terezi in and kissed her on the forehead.

"Woah man." Dave stood up. "Do you know what you're doing?"

Karkat scratched his neck. "Pretty much, yeah... We're the legal age, we have jobs...yeah."

"Wait a second." John walked over to join the conversation. "Did you just say we have jobs?"

Karkat clapped his hand over his mouth.

"What he meant to say," Terezi said for Karkat, "was he has a job. I'm just working off a debt, but I'm hoping I'll get hired once I work it off." She paused. "The manager doesn't even know I'm blind! And I'm not even sure if there's a way for her to find out! Today she commented that I am one of the most hardworking people she's ever had work for her!"

"Good for you," John replied, "but she's going to find out at some point, you know."

"Okay, I thought we were talking about marriage here!" Karkat exclaimed, purposely interrupting the conversation between Terezi and John.

"Right." John paused. "So, what do you guys have planned so far?"

"Um..."

"Alright. I'm guessing nothing."

"Correct."

"Didn't I tell you you could just look it up?"

"Oh, yeah, like I'd ever do that!"

"Okay, can we please just sit down and talk about it?"

Karkat sighed. "Fine."

They sat down at the kitchen table. "Okay," John said, "where should we start?"

Karkat and Terezi looked at each other. "Hm... Let's see..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an awkward chapter. At a friend's request, I attempted to insert a bit of John/Dave (because that's her OTP), but that kind of got morphed into John/Vriska.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written when buckets were still a thing.

Terezi walked into Red Dragon at 10:55, her usual arrival time at the Chinese restaurant.

"Ms. Pyrope, come here for a second!" the manager called.

"Yes, Mrs. Wilson-Lee?"

Mrs. Wilson-Lee, the restaurant's manager and owner, motioned with her finger for Terezi to come to her.

"Come with me into my office."

Terezi followed the woman into her office.

"I need to talk to you about you working here," Mrs. Wilson-Lee said.

"Yes?" There was a bit of worry in Terezi's voice.

The manager smiled. "You've worked outstandingly hard these past few days," she said.  
"I've decided you can forget about working off your debt. I'm hiring you."

Terezi's face lit up. "You mean...I'm going to get paid to work here?!"

Mrs. Wilson-Lee smiled and nodded.

"Oh, thank you so much! My fiancé and I have really been needing the money, thank you!"

"My pleasure." She paused. "Oh, by the way, I love your sunglasses. I think they're stylish!"

Terezi laughed, not really knowing what to say. "Um...thanks!"

* * *

 

Karkat finished putting up his lunch after his lunch break and turned around. Mr. Jones was standing right behind him.

"Um, hello, sir," he said.

"Mr. Vantas." Mr. Jones turned around to look towards the dining area. "I'm going to ask you to mop the floor, while business is still slow."

"Uh, sure." It surely wasn't that hard to clean a floor!

"Great. The cleaning supplies are in the closet by the restrooms. It's already unlocked."

"Alright." Karkat washed his hands and went out of the kitchen and over to the closet and opened it.

"Holy...fuck." Karkat's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Ah, shit, he thought, I forgot humans don't have anything against buckets!

He just stood there, staring at the bucket in the closet.

"Mr. Vantas, is anything wrong?"

Karkat turned around to find his boss standing there.

"Um, actually—"

"I was going to do it for him."

Karkat looked to his left and saw a guy about 19 or 20 years old. He quickly mouthed "Thanks" and the guy nodded back.

"Very well then, Mr. Freeman." Mr. Jones turned to Karkat. "Mr. Vantas, you may return to your original workstation."

Karkat sighed with relief and went back into the kitchen to wash his hands.

A few hours later Karkat's shift was over. He grabbed his stuff and got ready to leave. He was too tired (and possibly traumatized) to work any overtime.

As he approached the door to leave, Karkat saw the same guy who had volunteered to clean the floor in his place. I really don't want to,Karkat thought, but the nice earthly human way is the best fucking thing to do.

"Hey, thanks for what you did earlier, man," Karkat said.

The guy turned around. "No prob. You looked like you really didn't want to do it and had no idea how to, and I've done it before, so..." He paused and stuck out his hand. "I'm Cole Freeman, by the way."

Karkat shook Cole's hand very cautiously. "Karkat Vantas."

Cole looked at him funny.

"My mother didn't do a very good job of naming me." Karkat had always remembered what John had said: When in doubt, lie your ass off.

"Oh, by the way, sweet horns, man. Are they from some sort of sci-fi or fantasy movie or something?"

Karkat brought his hand up to his head and touched his nubby horns. He had almost totally forgotten they were there.

"Um, no, actually-"

"Hey, they're cool either way." Cole looked at his watch. "I have to get going. I guess I'll just talk to you tomorrow then."

"Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my used-to-be-friends told me Karkat needed a so-called "friend" besides John or Terezi. And this was the result.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just FYI, this chapter is proof that I cannot RP for my life, that's why the pesterlog in there sucks.
> 
> Who are you kidding, I suck at everything.

Karkat unlocked the apartment door and shoved it open. He threw the key onto the counter and slammed the door shut.

"Karkat!" Terezi ran up to him and embraced him in a huge hug.

"What the-" Karkat stopped. "Something bad better not've happened!"

Terezi smiled. "I got hired!"

"Really?! That's great!"

"Oh, and check your Trollian."

"Why? I thought we were done with that!"

"Just check it."

Karkat sighed and got on the laptop the two shared.

"What the..." Everyone whom he had unfriended was already re-added. "Is this a joke?! You've got to be fucking kidding me! Did the same thing happen to you?"

"I was talking to Nepeta earlier," Terezi said.

"Did you tell her?

"...No..."

"Can I tell her?"

"Sure, I'd like her to come!"

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling arsenicCatnip [AC]  
CG: NEPETA!  
AC: :33< karkat!  
AC: :33< i haven't talked to you in furever!  
AC: :33< where are you?  
CG: OKAY, CALM DOWN!  
CG: TEREZI AND I ARE ON EARTH.  
CG: WE'VE BEEN LIVING TOGETHER FOR QUITE A WHILE NOW.  
AC: :33< *wiggles ears curiously*  
AC: :33< earth?  
CG: TEREZI AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED.  
AC: :33< ...getting married? what does that mean?  
CG: IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HUMAN EARTH LOVE.  
CG: SINCE TEREZI AND I ARE MATESPRITS, IT'D BE A WAY TO SHOW WE ARE.  
AC: :33< that sort of makes sense...  
CG: SO, DO YOU WANT TO COME TO OUR WEDDING?  
AC: :33< sure, i'd love to!  
CG: OKAY THEN.  
carcinoGeneticist [CG] ceased trolling arsenicCatnip [AC]

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't do these Pesterlog things. Now you know why I don't roleplay.

The next day, Karkat sighed as he got up for work. Mr. Jones had reduced his work hours from 7 am to 6 pm to 7 am to 4 pm, so Karkat was at least relieved about that.

Karkat honestly hated work. Sure, Mr. Jones and that Cole person were okay, but he didn't like anyone else. He hated what he had to do, he hated his uniform, and he hated being away from Terezi. Especially for twelve hours at max.

He looked back at Terezi, who was sleeping in bed. She looked so helpless and cute, even though she would murder Karkat if he said that to her face.

Karkat smiled and walked over to the bed. He bent down and kissed Terezi's forehead. Terezi flinched and let out a sigh as she rolled over. Karkat chuckled softly and smoothed his hair down. "See you this evening," he whispered.

Karkat sighed as he stuffed his paper bag lunch into his cubby. He jerked around, as he felt a tapping on the back of his shoulder.

"Car-Cat, right?"

"Karkat," Karkat corrected. "One word. K's, not C's."

"Oh, sorry."

Karkat grunted.

"Is something wrong?" Cole asked.

Karkat smiled. "Oh, no, everything's great!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "I'm just really tired, really bored, and I've barely begun to plan a wedding with my fiancée!"

"Oh, um, sorry if I'm stressing you out."

"Actually, I'm always stressed out to some extent, so I'm used to it.

~

twinArmageddons [TA] began trolling gallowsCalibrator [GC]  
TA: tz, are you there?  
GC: SOLLUX?  
TA: ye2 iit2 me who el2e?  
GC: SORRY  
GC: 1M JUST R34LLY T1R3D  
TA: why?  
GC: WORK  
TA: what?  
GC: 1LL 3XPL41N  
GC: K4RK4T 4ND 1 W3NT TO 34RTH 4ND, W3LL, STUFF TO DO W1TH HUM4N 34RTH LOV3  
GC: W3R3 G3TT1NG M4RR13D!  
TA: marriied?  
GC: 1TS L1K3 4 PRF3SS1ON OF LOV3, BUT M4D3 PUBL1C  
GC: SOM3T1NG L1K3 TH4T  
GC: TH3 M4RR14G3 C3R3MONY 1S C4LL3D 4 W3DD1NG  
TA: oh okay cool ii gue22  
GC: DO YOU TH1NK YOU COULD COM3?  
GC: W3 4LR34DY KNOW N3P3T4S COM1NG  
TA: um  
TA: yeah ii thiink 2o  
TA: when ii2 iit?  
GC: W3LL W3 DONT KNOW Y3T  
TA: oh okay  
GC: 1M TRY1NG TO CONV1NC3 K4RK4T TO R3TURN FOR 4 D4Y OR TWO TO H4ND OUT FORM4L 1NV1TES W1TH M3, BUT  
GC: W3LL H4V3 TO DO TH4T WH3N W3 F1GUR3 OUT WH3N TH3 W3DD1NGS GO1NG TO B3  
TA: faiir enough  
twinArmageddons [TA] ceased trolling gallowsCallibrator [GC]


	11. Chapter 11

Karkat sighed as he tossed his sack lunch onto a table. He sat down and started unpacking it.

“Mind if I join you?”

Karkat looked up. It was Cole.

“Not really.” He pushed his lunch towards him and Cole scooted in the other side of the booth.

“I have to say,” Cole said after taking a bite of his sandwich, “you’ve been one of the nicest people I’ve met while working here.”

Karkat almost spit out his drink. “Are you serious?!” he exclaimed. “Really?!”

Cole sadly nodded. “Apparently, what I do after work isn’t ‘interesting’ enough.”

“Well what do you do?”

“It’s either read shitty sci-fi novels, watch shitty sci-fi movies, or play video games. Excuse my language, if you care.”

“Not at all. You should hear what I say.”

The two laughed.

“So where do you live?” Karkat asked.

Cole wiped some mayonnaise off of his lip. “I live in the neighborhood off of Dogwood Street. You know, the one next to that apartment building.”

“Oh, yeah, I know where you’re talking about.”

“Cool. Anyway, I’m still living my family while I’m trying to finish college. I’m saving up to buy a condo and get the hell out of there.”

“Ugh, I know what you’re talking about.” _Lies_.

“But I like my neighborhood and all, it’s just…my parents are annoying, and I have four siblings, all younger, and… They’re just all annoying. But I like my neighborhood.”

“Oh, yeah, I know someone who lives there. It’s nice.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah. I live in that apartment building you mentioned. With my fiancée. You’d need to come over sometime.”

“Sweet.”

* * *

“We’ve set the wedding date for June. June 23, to be exact.”

“Karkat, that would only give you two months to plan the wedding.” John stuck his fork into his piece of birthday cake. “Do either of you want my cake?”

Terezi reached across the table and grabbed the plate. “We already know who we’re inviting and we got the invitations we ordered in the mail yesterday. Oh, and we need Dave’s, Rose’s, and Jade’s addresses.”

John grabbed a Post-It notepad and began scribbling his friends’ addresses on it. “But you’d still need to decide who you’re going to hire for catering, order the cake and flower arrangements, not to mention, Terezi, buying a wedding dress and the bridesmaids’ gowns and, Karkat, renting tuxes for you and your groomsmen.”

“We’re not stupid.” Karkat leaned back in his chair and stretched. “Oh, and you need to like get your stupid transportalizer ready or something. We told Nepeta and Sollux we’d go back to Alternia to give them and the other fuckasses their wedding invitations, and Terezi wants to bring back her bridesmaids to look at dresses.”

Terezi nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, and here’s your invitation.” She reached into her handbag and pulled out an envelope addressed to John.

“Okay.” John took the envelope and got up from the table. “Follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I ended up falling in love with Cole Freeman way too much T_T//
> 
> This was also one of my attempts to keep with the original author's writing style and AU, if you can't tell. I guess I took his AU and turned it into my own in a ton of ways, but whatever.
> 
> It gets pretty OOC from hereon-out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I questioned my sanity many times while writing this.
> 
> I also questioned, and still do question, this AU. It doesn't make sense even to me, and I'm the one who pretty much made it up.

As Karkat and Terezi stepped off of the transportalizer, they tripped over each other’s legs and landed on the ground in a heap, laughing.

“Karkat, Terezi, is that really you?”

The two looked up at Nepeta, who clearly hadn’t changed since they saw her last over half an Earth year ago. Karkat and Terezi, however, were a different story. Karkat’s signature messy hair was now somewhat combed, and the two had apparently started caring about fashion. The only thing about them that was the same were the horns, skin, and Terezi’s red sunglasses.

Terezi smiled. “Nepeta!” She quickly squeezed her in a hug. “Oh, I have your invitation right here.”

She pulled out a labeled envelope and gave it to Nepeta. “And Kanaya, and Sollux, and…Vriska?”

Everyone there turned towards Vriska.

“You’re not…dead…!” Terezi unexpectedly threw her arms around Vriska.

“Okay, get off of me.” Vriska pushed Terezi off of her.”

“Back and still as bitchy as ever,” Karkat mumbled. He grabbed the remaining invitations from Terezi and finished handing them out.

Kanaya examined the envelope curiously before opening it. “Terezi Pyrope and Karkat Vantas request your presence at their celebration of marriage,” she read. “Saturday, June 23, at 4:00 p.m., Maple Valley Country Club, 5741 Camellia Avenue. Reception to immediately follow.”

“Can all of you make it?” Terezi asked enthusiastically.

After little discussion, everyone nodded.

“Great!” Terezi paused. “Nepeta, Kanaya,…Vriska, um, you three are kind of coming back to Earth with us.”

“What?!”

“C’mon!” Terezi began dragging Vriska towards the transportalizer, her fingernails digging into Vriska’s wrist.

“Ow, Terezi, stop, you’re hurting me!”

“Oh.”

Terezi let go of Vriska’s wrist. Blue blood appeared on the marks where Terezi’s nails had pierced Vriska’s skin.

“Nepeta, Kanaya, do you think it’s ridiculous to be made to go to Earth now?!” Vriska whined.

“I already agreed I would.”

“I have nothing against it.”

“Seriously?!” Vriska exclaimed in disbelief.

“Majority rules!” Terezi practically cackled and grabbed Vriska’s bloody wrist.

* * *

“Good God!” John exclaimed as he fell out of his chair. “Karkat, Terezi, you should have at least told me you were coming back—“

John finally noticed the other three trolls in the room.

“Who…?”

“John, Vriska. Vriska, John,” Karkat mumbled, but loud enough for the two to hear.

“ _You’re_ John?!”

“ _You’re_ Vriska?!”

The acquaintances stared at each other.

“Okay, we can talk later. Right now, I was to go back to the apartment and eat. I’m starving.” Karkat sighed.

“Or we could go out to eat,” Terezi suggested.

“That is a very good idea.” John stood up.

“Hey Dad!” he yelled. “Can I borrow fifty bucks?”

“Sure! Just a minute!”

“…Dad?” Nepeta asked, confused.

“Male human lusus,” Karkat explained. “On Earth, your actual gene-givers raise you. Both of them, most of the time.”

“Interesting,” Kanaya said.

The door opened. “…forty, forty-five, fifty…” John’s dad looked up. “John, when did all these people get here…?”

“Karkat and Terezi brought them.”

“Okay…” John’s dad coughed. “Here’s your fifty.”

John took the money. “Thanks Dad.”

John’s dad nodded and left the room.


	13. Chapter 13

After dinner, Karkat, Terezi, Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya went back to the apartment.

"Stupid—motherfucking—door!" Karkat grunted as he tried to force the door open. It finally gave way and he slammed it open.

"I know it's not much," Terezi said. "We're never here, though, so it works out pretty well."

"Why aren't you ever here?" Nepeta asked.

"Work," Karkat mumbled. He went into the bedroom.

"Where do you work?"

"I work at a Chinese restaurant, and Karkat works at some fast-food chain."

"McDonald's!" he yelled from the bedroom.

"Yeah, that."

Karkat went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. He undressed and got in. Why did they have to stay  _here_?! The apartment wasn't big enough for all of them to stay in for a few days at the  _least_!

"Ah, fuck, I have work tomorrow," he said to himself. Karkat squirted a glob of Axe shampoo into his hand, and then worked it into a lather on his hair.

He didn't know what he was going to do. He and Terezi had barely begun to plan for the wedding. Sure, the next day Terezi and the others were going to look at bridesmaids' dresses and the day after that, her own wedding gown, but that didn't really count. They couldn't order the cake too far in advance, either.

Karkat turned off the shower and grabbed a towel. He shook out his hair and dried it off, messing it up in the process. He wrapped the towel around his waist and went into the bedroom.

"Holy shit!" Karkat exclaimed. "Terezi, you scared me!"

"Sorry! I needed to get an extra blanket!"

"Go ahead."

Karkat went over to the dresser across from the bed and opened a drawer. He pulled out a plain white t-shirt and a clean pair of boxers.

"Terezi," he said, "…do you mind if I, well, change in front of you?"

"Oh, um," Terezi giggled, face turning teal, "I was about to go back into the kitchen."

"Um, okay," Karkat replied.

Terezi nervously laughed and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Karkat mumbled curses and let the towel drop from his waist. After he put his boxers on, he put on the t-shirt. A few days earlier, he had ripped the sleeves off in a rage fit (something to do with work). Karkat honestly thought it looked better that way.

He opened the bedroom door and instantly wandered over to the fridge. "Terezi! We're out of root beer!"

"I'll be sure to get some when we go to the store tomorrow!"

Terezi turned back to Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya. "So, yeah, there's food in the fridge and the cabinets if you get hungry. Just make yourselves comfortable."

"You are  _so different_ ," Vriska said.

Terezi had no response. "I'm going to go crash," she quickly said, and skipped into the bedroom.

Karkat got on the laptop and opened up the Internet browser. He opened a list of bookmarks he and Terezi had created—interestingly titled "W3DD1NG SH1T"—and glanced at the stack of wedding invitations on the counter.

_I'm such an idiot_ , he thought. There would be almost  _no one_  at their wedding. But wait… If he and Terezi both invited their bosses (they were rather close to their bosses), that would be two more people, four if their spouses came. He could invite Cole, too… Maybe Cole's family…

After typing a few notes into Microsoft Word, he turned off the laptop and went into the bedroom, ready for a good night's rest…

…Only to find Terezi lying in bed in some lingerie.

"Hey babe." Terezi patted the empty spot in the bed next to her.

"Terezi…" Karkat sighed. "Really, I hate to turn down such an offer, but…we've done it twice already, and, well, this may be awkward, but you know what they say here, 'third time's the charm', and…I'd like to save the third time for when we're married."

"Oh, I understand…"

There was a long and awkward silence.

"Wanna make out?"

"Yes,  _please_!"

Terezi got out of bed and went over to Karkat to fulfill his request. Their lips locked and Karkat played with Terezi's hair.

"Wait." Terezi pushed herself away from Karkat and took off her sunglasses.

Karkat took off his shirt.

Terezi opened her eyes. Karkat held his breath and touched his hand to her cheek.

"Karkat… Your hand is so warm…"

"You're so beautiful…"

Terezi's face turned teal. In reaction to this, Karkat's face turned bright red.

Karkat's hand found its way down to Terezi's waist. The silky material of Terezi's teal and black polka-dotted corset felt thin in between his fingers.

"Why is this considered so sick and disgusting on Alternia?" Terezi wondered aloud.

"Mm." Karkat pressed his lips to Terezi's once again. "Your lips taste like candy."

"No,  _your_ lips taste like candy."

* * *

Pssh.  _This_ was an awkward chapter to write.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll delete the chapter notes later.


	14. Chapter 14

Karkat rolled over and slapped his hand down on his blaring alarm clock. He rubbed his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed. It was 5:45 in the morning, and he needed to get ready for work.

He walked over to the closet and pulled out his ugly, shitty, stupid uniform. As he got dressed, he couldn't help but look back at Terezi.

_She's so beautiful,_ he thought.  _I can't wait to see her on our wedding day._

Karkat went into the kitchen and turned on the light. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a root beer and a cup of yogurt. Whoo. Best breakfast combination  _ever_.

He began to leave, but he stopped. Karkat went back into the bedroom and over to Terezi's side of the bed.

Terezi stretched and yawned. "N-Nubby?" she mumbled.

"I'm off to work," he whispered. "Have fun today."

He leaned over and kissed Terezi. "Love you."

"Love you…too."

"Okay, everyone, we have a long day ahead of us," Terezi said in an extremely "I'm-in-charge-and-I-know-everything-about-what-we're-going-to-be-doing" tone. "You three are going to help me pick out bridesmaids' dressed. The appointment starts at 2:00."

"What's a bridesmaid?" Nepeta asked.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot, you don't know much about weddings." Terezi turned her head. "Let's go sit down at the table and I'll tell you."

Terezi grabbed a pen and a couple sheets of computer paper and sat down at the table.

"Okay, so here on Earth, a matesprit is called a girlfriend, if female, or a boyfriend, if male," Terezi explained.

"So you and Karkat are girlfriend and boyfriend," Vriska said.

"Well, now we're fiancés," Terezi replied. "I'm about to get there.

So, if the boyfriend and girlfriend love each other enough, they'll decide to get married. That's where the two decide to 'come together as one,' I guess you could put it. The wedding's an elaborate ceremony most of the time, like with tons of flowers and ribbon and that kind of stuff."

"What's a fiancé?" Nepeta asked.

"Oh, yeah." Terezi paused. "So the boyfriend has to—well, I guess he doesn't have to, but most boyfriends do—anyway, he proposes to his girlfriend, where he buys her a fancy ring and asks her to marry him. Then they're fiancés."

"Do you have a ring?" asked Kanaya.

"Of course." Terezi held up her left hand.

"It's very pretty."

"Where do the bridesmaids come in?!" Vriska demanded. "I want to know already!"

"Okay." Terezi scratched her neck. "Wait, I'll do a search for the dictionary definition."

She stood up and grabbed the laptop off of the kitchen counter. Terezi opened up the Internet browser and typed in "define bridesmaid" into the Google searchbar.

"Ah, here we go," she said. "'Bridesmaid: A bride's attendant, usually unmarried. Traditionally, there are two to three bridesmaids, but in modern times there may be as many as five to ten. The bridesmaid(s) walk ahead of the bride in the processional, sometimes accompanied by groomsmen."

"Groomsmen?"

"Like bridesmaids, except for the groom."

Terezi closed the laptop. "There you have it. Bridesmaids wear matching dresses most of the time, and you three will."

"What color will they be?" Kanaya asked.

"Teal." Terezi paused. "What time is it?"

Nepeta looked at the microwave clock. "1:13 p.m."

"Oh, we need to get going, then."

Everyone stood up.

"Wait." Terezi stopped. "I would suggest all of you change."

"Why?"

"Because what you're wearing isn't 'normal' here. You can borrow some of my clothes."

* * *

The chapters from here on will mostly be lengthier.

W00t.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will remove chapter notes later.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so OOC to the point where it hurts me to read this.

“I feel so awkward!” Vriska exclaimed, tugging at the somewhat frilly light blue top she was wearing.

“You’ll get used to it.”  Terezi grabbed a pair of black flats (with Kanaya’s approval, of course) from the shoe rack.  “Wear these.”

“Fine.”  Vriska snatched the shoes from Terezi’s hands and slid them onto her feet.

Nepeta pulled a stray thread off of the green camisole she was wearing and readjusted the white bolero.  “Can we leave now?”

“Sure.”  Terezi grabbed her handbag.  “We’re gonna be late!” 

* * *

 

“Okay, remember to go along with what I told you earlier,” Terezi said before pushing the door of the David’s Bridal open.

“Welcome to David’s Bridal!” a woman at the front desk said.

“Hello,” said Terezi.  “We have an appointment at two.”

“You must be Terezi,” the lady said.  Terezi smiled and nodded.  “Follow me."

Terezi, Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya followed the lady to a back room.  “Feel free to sit down,” she told them.  “A consultant will be right with you.”

“Alright, thank you!”  Terezi sat down on the couch.  “C’mon, you guys can sit down too.”  She slid her cane under the couch to hide it.

The other three sat down.  “So all we’re going to do is try on dresses?” Vriska asked in a straightforward tone.

Before Terezi could answer, a young woman different from the one at the front desk came in the little sitting area.

“Hello ladies,” the curly carrot-top said.  “My name is Kyla Rae, and I’ll be your consultant today.  Now, which one of you is the bride?"

Terezi smiled and raised her hand.  “That would be me!”

“And who have you brought with you?”

 “These are my bridesmaids, Nepeta and Kanaya, and my maid of honor Vriska.”

“And I understand you’re looking for bridesmaids’ dresses today?”

“Yes.”

“Great.  So what do you have in mind?”

Terezi thought for a moment.  “Well, it has to be short.  Not short-short, but not long either.”

“Sounds easy enough.”  Kyla Rae looked around.  “What color were you looking for?”

“Teal.  Definitely teal.”

Kyla Rae smiled.  “Okay, well, if you ladies would follow me. 

Terezi, Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya followed Kyla Rae into a side room filled with colorful bridesmaids’ dresses.

“Okay, so we’ll start out with letting the bride pick out what she likes,” Kyla Rae told the group, “and then we’ll let the bridesmaids pick if the bride’s choices don’t work out. 

“Works for me!”  Terezi began going through the dress rack.

“Ooh!”  Terezi jumped around on the rack.  The other three trolls nervously glanced at each other, not exactly agreeing on some of the choices.

Terezi perked up.  “I’m ready for them to try the dresses on!”

She waited patiently on the couch as her bridesmaids and maid of honor put on their possible dresses.  I hope they like them was her only thought.

Finally, the three entered the room with Kyla Rae.  Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya all stepped up onto the pedestal-type thing and looked into the mirror.

“Kanaya is wearing your first pick,” Kyla Rae began, “a satin knee-length dress with a flower accent.”  Terezi nodded in approval.  “What are you comments on it?”

“I really like the accent,” Terezi replied.  “It makes the dress seem…different.”

“I don’t know,” Kanaya interjected.  “I like the dress style, but I feel as if the flower is drawing too much attention to my waist.”

“Now that you’ve mentioned it, it kind of does.”  Terezi looked back up at Kyla Rae.  “Nepeta?”

“Nepeta is wearing your second choice,” Kyla Rae said.  “The dress is also a satin knee-length, this time with a crumb-catcher neckline and a sash.”  She paused.  “Comments?”

“It’s honestly uncomfortable,” Nepeta explained, “very uncomfortable, like the neckline makes me feel like I’m going to fall out of the dress.”

Everyone snickered.  “Well we certainly don’t want that!” Kyla Rae exclaimed in a humorous tone.

Terezi nodded.  “That one’s a no.” 

“Okay.”  Kyla Rae cleared her throat.  “Vriska is wearing the third dress, a chiffon dress slightly below the knee, with a straight neckline, frilled skirt, and a reverse sash. 

“It looks good on you, Vriska,” Terezi said.

“I feel good in it,” Vriska replied.  “I honestly do.  The dress is extremely comfortable.”  She paused.  “I just don’t think I like the skirt, though.”

“It looks kind of awkward,” Nepeta commented.

“It looked better on the hanger,” Terezi added.

“Hm, I can see if we have a similar style in the back,” Kyla Rae said.

“That would be great!” Terezi replied.

“Great.  You ladies just wait here and I’ll be right back.”

“Alright, thank you!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is what happens when you watch WAY too many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress". I'm sick of that show now.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say about this is original characters.

“Forty-five minutes,” Karkat whispered to himself.  “Forty-five minutes, and then I get to leave.  Forty-five minutes, and then I get to go over to Cole’s house.”

 Before he knew it, it was already 4:00.  Karkat got in the passenger’s seat of Cole’s Ford pickup and turned on the AC.

 Five minutes later, Cole pulled into the driveway of his family’s house, which was only a few houses down from John’s.  Cole and Karkat got out of the truck, and Karkat followed Cole inside.

 As soon as Cole opened the door, a little girl with strawberry blonde curls came running.  “Cole!” she exclaimed, and Cole bent down to catch her hug.

 “Oh, Karkat, this is my little sister Caroline,” he said.

 “Cat?” Caroline exclaimed.  “I love kitties!”

 Karkat couldn’t help but laugh a little.  “Huge age difference,” he said extremely off-topicly, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

 “Yeah.”  Cole sighed.  “She was a surprise.”  He paused.  “I also have an eight-year-old brother, Conner, a fourteen-year-old brother, Cody, and a twin sister, Charlotte.”

 “Wow, you have a big family.”

 “Yeah.  Only me, Charlotte, and Cody were actually intended.”

 “You make it sound like it’s a bad thing.”  A woman who was obviously Cole’s mother entered the kitchen.

 “Hey Mom.”  Cole put Caroline down to give his mom a quick hug.

 Mrs. Freeman looked up at Karkat.  “Oh, you must be Karkat!  Oh, Cole’s told me so much about you!”

 Cole rolled his eyes.  “Mom!”

 Karkat laughed nervously.  “Hi.”

 

* * *

 

 “Good news, everyone!”

 Kyla Rae entered the room with a huge smile on her face.  “I may have found exactly what you’re looking for.”

 She held up a new dress, this one exactly like dress number three except with an A-line skirt.

 “Yes!” Terezi exclaimed.  “That one’s it!”

 “Okay,” Kyla Rae said, “I’ll have Vriska try this one on, and Nepeta, you can try on the one Vriska is wearing to see if you like the feel of it.”

 “Okay!” Nepeta exclaimed.

 A few minutes later, Vriska and Nepeta returned.

 “This is comfortable!” exclaimed Nepeta.  “And it’s not too loose around the bust, either!”

 “And I really like this dress,” Vriska added.

 Kyla Rae turned to Terezi.  “So is this your bridesmaids’ dress?”

 Terezi grinned.  “Yes.”

 

* * *

 “We’re back!” Terezi sang as she opened the apartment door.

 “How long were you there?” Karkat asked, looking up from the TV.

 “Only a little over an hour,” Terezi replied, “but we went shopping afterwards.”  She set a few shopping bags down on the table.

 “Did you find your dresses?”

 “Yes, and only 400 dollars spent!”

 “Good girl.”  Karkat got up off the couch and went over to Terezi.  He gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

 “Oh.”  He stopped for a moment.  “I might have found us a flower girl for the wedding.”

 “Oh really?”

 “Yeah.  She’s my friend Cole from work’s little sister.  She’s absolutely adorable.”

 “Adorable?” Terezi repeated.  “Did you just say _adorable_?”

 “…Yeah…”

 “Wow.  I have never, ever heard you use that word.”

 Everyone laughed.

 “Anyway,” Karkat continued, “I told her about you, and she said she thinks you’re cool.”

 Terezi laughed.

 “And Cole’s youngest brother might be a possibility for the ringbearer.  You’d have to meet them.  They’re hilarious.”

 “If you say so.”

 

* * *

 

Terezi turned around.  “Okay,” she said, “tomorrow is going to be possibly the second most important day of my life:  Picking out the dress I’m going to walk down the aisle in.  And we have to be at the boutique, a different one from today, at noon.”

 “We can do that,” Kanaya agreed.”

 “Will we eat before we go?” Nepeta asked.

 “Oh, yeah.  We could just stop at the McDonald’s Karkat works at, it’s only a few blocks away from the boutique.”

 “Sounds good to me,” Nepeta replied.

 “Terezi!” Karkat called from the couch.  “Do you want me to order pizza for dinner?”

 “Um, sure.  With pepperoni.”

 “Okay.  I’ll do that.”

 

* * *

After dinner, Terezi collected everyone’s plates—cheap, reusable plastic ones they had bought at Target—and began doing the dishes.

 "Why are you bothering to go ahead and do that?” Vriska asked.  “At least wait until you have twice as many dirty dishes.”

 “I’m going to be a housewife soon,” Terezi said as she rinsed off a plate.  “I might as well keep the apartment clean.”

 “You do realize housewives stay home all the time,” Karkat said.

 Terezi sighed.  “Fine, a part-time housewife.”  She paused.  “At least for a while.  At least until you get a better job.”

 “Yeah.”  Karkat stood up and went over to the sink.  “Let me finish them.”

 “Even though you hate doing it?”

 “Even though I hate doing it.”

 “Both of you are almost nothing like you were before you came here,” Vriska said to break the romantic feeling.

 “We’ve kind of had to,” Karkat replied in an irritated tone.  “I can’t cuss at anyone, well, except for Terezi, John, and this guy I work with, and Terezi has to act blind at least half of the time, and…”  He sighed.

 Terezi smiled.  “But after we’re married, everything will be better.”

 “God, I hope so.”

 Terezi kissed Karkat’s cheek.  “I’m going to bed.”

 “’Night.”

 


	17. Chapter 17

Terezi woke up at least an hour before everyone else did.  She got in the shower and washed her hair.  After she had gotten out and dried it, she put on the little bit of makeup that actually made a grey-skinned troll look better, not that she really cared.

When she came back in the bedroom, Karkat was sitting up in bed, staring at the ceiling.

“What are you doing?” Terezi asked.

“Thinking about what I’m going to do while you’re gone, since I have to work today.”  Karkat sighed.  “I’ll probably just go over to John’s house or something.”

 

* * *

 

“Come in.”

John opened the door wider so Karkat could come in.  “Where’s Terezi?” he asked.

“She’s eating lunch with the others.”

“Oh.”  John paused.  “So have you guys made any more wedding plans?”

“Not really.  Terezi ordered the bridesmaids’ dresses yesterday.” 

“Cool.”

 John looked around the room, tapping his feet.  “Oh!” he suddenly exclaimed.  “Are you doing the ‘something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue’ thing?"

“The fuck?” Karkat asked.

“It’s where the bride has something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue either on her or at the wedding,” John explained 

“I can see where Terezi could get ‘something new’ and ‘something blue,’ but I’m not so sure about ‘something old’ and ‘something borrowed.’”

John thought for a moment.  “I know!” he said, and motioned for Karkat to follow him.

John pulled a dusty box off of the top shelf of the closet in one of the spare bedrooms.  “What’s that?” asked Karkat.

“My mom’s wedding veil.”  John sighed.  “Before she died, I remember her saying that if she ever had a daughter, she would’ve wanted her to wear this at her wedding.  But since my mom never had any more children, it’s just been sitting here for fourteen years.”

John turned to Karkat.  “This might be kind of awkward to say, but Karkat, you’ve honestly been kind of like a brother to me these past few months.  Which would make Terezi my almost-sister-in-law.  Which is close enough to a sister.”

He placed the box in Karkat’s hands.  “Tell Terezi she can wear this on your wedding day.”

Karkat stared at the box.  “Wow, John, I don’t know what to say—” He stopped.  “Terezi’s supposed to start picking out wedding dresses in half an hour!”

“Well, where is she?”

“At the McDonald’s we work at.”

“Does she have a cell phone?”

“We bought some a few weeks ago, yeah.”

“Can you call her and tell her to wait?”

“Yeah.”

“C’mon, call her!”

 

* * *

 

 

“Where are they?!” Vriska mumbled through gritted teeth, looking around for John and Karkat.

“There they are!”  Terezi pointed to John’s ’07 Suzuki Verona that was pulling into the parking lot.  John pulled into a parking space.

“What is it you need to show me?” Terezi asked.

Karkat got out of the car.  “John and I were wondering if you wanted to wear this with your wedding dress.”  He lifted the lid off of the box and carefully took out the silky veil.

“Oh my…” Terezi gasped.  “It’s beautiful!  I’d love to!  Tell John I said thank you!”

Karkat laughed.  “I can do that.”  He gave the box to Terezi.  “See you this evening.”

“See you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According to my FF.net author notes this was an awkward chapter. In my opinion, this entire fic is awkward.


	18. Chapter 18

"Someone carry the box," Terezi said as she, Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya hurried on to the bridal boutique. "And _don't_ drop it."

"I'll take it." Kanaya took the box from Terezi's hand.

"And if anyone asks, it was my mother's…"

"…who is dead," Vriska finished for Terezi.

"Yes. And I'm _not_ blind."

"Okay." Nepeta turned her head and read the sign of the shop next to them. "Bridals by Michelle," she read. "Is this it?"

"Yes!" Terezi motioned with her free hand for the girls to come inside with her.

"Hello, welcome to Bridals by Michelle," the lady at the front desk said. "Do you have an appointment? At noon, perhaps?"

"Yes!" Terezi replied.

"Then you must be Terezi," the lady continued. "Okay, follow me."

The lady led Terezi, Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya upstairs to a salon area. "Please, sit down," she said. "Someone will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Terezi took a seat on the couch as the lady left.

Kanaya sat down next to Terezi. "Do you have anything in mind?"

"Sort of. I'll know it when I see—well, smell it."

A lady with straight long brown hair finally walked in. "Hello ladies!" she exclaimed. "My name is Anica, how are you all today?"

"Very good, thank you?" Terezi replied.

"And I'm assuming you're the bride?"

"Yes." Terezi shook the lady's hand.

"And who have you brought with you?"

"My two bridesmaids and my maid of honor."

"Okay, great! If you would follow me, we can talk about your dress."

"Okay!" Terezi stood up and followed Anica into a smaller room off of the salon.

There was a small table with a chair on either side. Terezi and Anica sat down and Anica pulled out a small binder.

"So, first, tell me about your fiancé," said Anica. "Just, anything! I always like this part!"

Terezi smiled. "I've known him since we were…about twelve," she decided. "It was kind of funny at first, because he always denied he had a crush on me and acted like he hated me some of the time. But eventually we got serious, and a few weeks ago he decided to propose."

Anica smiled. "Ah, okay." She paused. "Tell me about your wedding."

"Well," Terezi began, "the wedding's June 23."

"Wow, you don't have much time to plan."

"We've gotten quite a lot planned so far, actually. The wedding is going to be at the Maple Valley Country Club, so I'd like a gown that, you know, would work well outside as well as inside."

"The Country Club?! Gosh, do you know how hard it is to get a wedding booked there?! Especially a summer wedding?!"

"Oh really?" Terezi laughed. "I guess I just lucked out then!"

Anica laughed. "Big time." She paused. "So what kind of dress do you have in mind?"

"Well, I don't really like the mermaid style," Terezi began. "But I'd kind of like something somewhere in between a ballgown and an A-line, do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes, yes." Anica nodded her head. "Not totally straight like an A-line, but not extremely poofy like a ballgown."

"Exactly."

"And what is your preferred budget on the dress?"

"Um, I'd prefer not to go over $800."

"Okay, I'm sure we can find something you'd like."

"Wait." Terezi pulled out the box. "I'd like the dress to match my veil."

"Oh, you already have a veil?"

Terezi sighed. "It was my mother's. She would've wanted me to wear it."

"Oh, well we surely want to honor her wishes." Anica stood up. "Now, if you'd follow me."

Anica led Terezi to a room full of dresses and pulled one off the rack. "Is this what you had in mind?"

"Yes!" Terezi exclaimed.

"Okay, I'll have you try it on, and then I'll get some more dresses."

Terezi felt really awkward undressing in front of someone she didn't know. She stepped into the dress and struggled to keep it pulled up over her breasts as it was zipped up.

"It's really pretty, and it's comfortable," Terezi commented. "I'd like to see what they think of it."

Terezi and Anica walked back to the room where Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya were waiting.

"Oh my," Kanaya whispered, and she and the other girls gasped as Terezi stepped up onto the pedestal.

"What do you think?" Terezi asked.

"It's beautiful," said Nepeta.

"It looks…good…on you," Vriska said. "I'm just not sure I like the beading at the top. It's not you."

Terezi inhaled deeply to smell the slight color difference between the fabric and the beads. "You're right," she said. "It's a little too sparkly."

She turned to Anica. "Back to the changing room," she said.

"How about something a little simpler," Anica suggested. "The same style, minus the beading?"

"Perfect," Terezi replied.

"Okay, you wait in the changing room while I find more dresses."

"Okay." Terezi went back to the changing room.

Five minutes later, Anica came back with two more dresses. "This one has a laced back," she said.

"Let's try it on."

Terezi winced as Anica tightened the laces on the back of the dress. "I don't know," Terezi said as she pretended to look in the mirror. "I'd like to have the girls see it."

"I like the laced back," Vriska said.

"I do too," agreed Kanaya.

"It looks pretty," Terezi replied, "but it feels like it's pinching my back."

"Oh, well we don't want that!" Anica exclaimed. "Let's go try on the other one."

"This one is a sleeveless V-neck," Anica told Terezi.

"Ooh, something different!" Terezi exclaimed.

She stepped into the dress and stuck her arms through the armholes. "This one is comfortable," Terezi said after Anica had zipped it up.

No one said anything as Terezi stepped up onto the pedestal.

"Do you not like it?" Terezi asked.

"The bodice isn't my favorite," Kanaya said.

"I don't really like the top," Nepeta added.

Terezi sighed. "Alright." She and Anica headed back into the dressing room.

"I'd like the dress to have a little splash of color," Terezi decided.

"I'll see what I can find." Anica left the dressing room.

Terezi sighed and sat down. Forty-five minutes, three dresses, and nothing. Every dress she tried on had something wrong with it.

Anica knocked on the dressing room door. "Come in," Terezi said.

"I think I may have found what you're looking for." Anica held up a ballgown with a plainer bodice…and a red sash.

"It's perfect!" Terezi exclaimed.

After Anica had zipped it up and tied the sash, Terezi gasped and put her hand over her mouth in surprise. "Yes!" she said. "This is the one!"

Terezi walked into the room, a huge smile on her face. "What do you think?" she asked in a bright tone.

"It's the best so far."

"It looks more like you."

"I think that one's it."

Terezi turned to Anica. "Can I have the veil?"

"Sure."

As Anica placed the veil on Terezi's head, she felt her eyes welling up with tears. She blinked them away as quickly as possible. Terezi never cried.

"This is it." Terezi smiled. "I can imagine myself getting married in this."

"So is this the dress?" Anica asked.

"Yes."

"Great! I'll go ahead and order it for you. Could you raise your arms so I can see the tag?"

Terezi did so.

"…Oh… I'm afraid the dress is over your budget."

"How much is it?"

"$1000 even."

"That's not too bad. I'm willing to stretch."

Anica laughed. "Okay, great!"


	19. Chapter 19

“I can’t wait until this is ready!” Terezi exclaimed as the group was walking back to the apartment.

 “When should the dress get in?”

 “May 19.  A little over an Earth month,” Terezi replied.

 “What about our dresses?”

 "April 30.”

 “And what’s today?”

 “April 15."

* * *

 Terezi rummaged through her handbag and pulled out a key to the apartment.  She stuck it in the lock, jiggled it a little, and shoved the door open.

 “What the—!” Terezi exclaimed.  “Sollux?!  Gamzee?!”

 Everyone just sort of stared at each other awkwardly before Karkat came out of the bedroom.

 “Karkles!” Terezi exclaimed.  She walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss.

 “Thick,” Sollux mumbled.

 Karkat coughed.  “Hey,” he said to Terezi, “can we talk for a minute?  In private?”

 “Sure.”  Terezi walked into the bedroom with Karkat and shut the door.

 “Gamzee and Sollux’ll both be here up until the wedding,” Karkat said.  “We have a tux fitting on Tuesday.”

 “Where are they going to stay, though?  There’s no way seven of us can fit in the apartment!" 

“I convinced John’s dad to let them stay at his house.”

 “Good.”  Terezi sighed.

“What is it?” asked Karkat.

Terezi sighed again.  “Sometimes I think we should have pushed the wedding date back a few more months.  I just feel like we don’t have enough planned already.”

“What else do we have to do?”

“Well,” Terezi replied, “we have to hire catering and order the cake, not to mention getting a marriage license.”

“Oh, fuck, we have to get a license?" 

“In order to be legally married, yes.”

“How hard would it be to get one?”

Terezi thought for a moment.  “Well, I remember the website saying it’s pretty easy.”

“That’s good,” Karkat sighed.

“But we’d have to present some form of legal identification when applying, such as a birth certificate, driver’s license, or passport, none of which we have.”

“Shit…”

“I know.  It sucks.”

“We’ll figure it out somehow.”  Karkat put his arm around Terezi and kissed her cheek.  Terezi smiled and giggled.

“We’d better go back.  I hope they haven’t gone through everything and destroyed the place.”

Karkat smiled.  “Good idea.”

The two went back into the kitchen, where Sollux was going through the fridge.

“Ith there anything thweet in here?” he asked.

“Um, we have yogurt,” Karkat replied.

“What doeth it taththe like?”

“Um…it’s fruity.  And creamy.”

“Good enough.”

“But…we’re going to go out to eat in about an hour,” Karkat told Sollux.  He turned to Terezi.  “Don’t you have work tomorrow?”

“Shit!” Terezi exclaimed.  “I do…”

“You can take off,” Karkat said.  “I wouldn’t mind.”

“But I would!” Terezi replied.  “I can only take off so many days every so often, and we really need the money because I went $200 over budget today…”

“ _$200 over budget?!_ ” Karkat repeated.  “Terezi!  That $200 could’ve gone toward anything else we have to do!”

“I’m sorry!  The dress was just too beautiful!  And I’ll work five hours overtime every day for the next few weeks just to make up for the money!”

“Terezi, I don’t think you understand!  $200 isn’t something you can just let fly over your head!”

“But it was just for the wedding dress!  And I did good with the bridesmaids’ dresses, and a free veil!  At least be happy I have a job so I can help pay too!”

“I am thankful you can pay for it, but just because it’s our wedding doesn’t mean you can break our bank account!”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?!  Take everything back?!  Cancel all the orders and reservations for everthing?!"

“Go ahead!  That’s fine with me!”

Terezi smiled.  “Oh, and while we’re at it, take your stupid ring back!  I don’t want it anymore!”  She took the engagement ring off of her finger and threw it at Karkat.  “I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

Terezi felt herself about to burst into tears; she was so sad.  She turned around and ran into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

The room was silent.  Everyone was staring at Karkat.

“Nice going,” Gamzee said.

“You shut the fuck up.”  Karkat gave him a death glare and went onto the balcony, closing the sliding door behind him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fight/break-up scene I must include in every fic I write.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so OOC it makes me nauseated.

Terezi wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks yet another time. Her pillow was soaked, as were becoming her shirt sleeves. She felt another wave of tears coming and started sobbing. She noticed she was crying really loudly by now, but she couldn't help it.

She was devastated by what Karkat had just done.  _Why?_ That was her only question.  _Why? Why did he get so mad? Why does he care so much about money? Why did he have to make me break our engagement?_

There was a knock on the door. "Terezi?" It was Vriska. "Can I come in?"

Terezi sniffed. "I don't care."

Vriska came in and closed the door behind her. She sat down on the bed next to Terezi.

Terezi just laid her head on Vriska's shoulder and began sobbing again.

Vriska didn't exactly know how to deal with the situation, so she just said "It'll be okay" and started smoothing down Terezi's hair—how could the situation gotten any more awkward?

Terezi gasped for breath in between sobs and wiped the tears from her eyes. She sniffed. "I'm going to go to sleep," she told Vriska.

Vriska sighed. "Okay. I…hope you…feel…better." She gave Terezi an awkward squeeze and stood up. After a somewhat sympathetic smile, she left.

Vriska went back into the main room, where Karkat was sort of sulking on the couch. He turned his head to look at her.

"I-is she okay?" he asked almost in a whisper.

Vriska shook her head. "Terrible. I've _never_ seen her like that."

Karkat sighed. "I just wish she'd understand we have a budget to stick to!"

"She  _does_ understand. She told me she's been trying really hard not to overspend, but today she couldn't."

"But $800… That's more than just overspending."

Vriska sighed. "I'll leave the rest of the conversation up to you two." She turned around and went into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Terezi's sobs and tear count had gone down, but she still felt  _terrible_. Every time she rolled over her stomach growled, and she was becoming dehydrated from crying too much. But she didn't feel like getting up to eat. She didn't feel like talking to anyone.

Except Karkat.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well…there you have it! Perhaps the most OOC chapter out of all of I'd Only Choose You!


	21. Chapter 21

Karkat slowly opened the bedroom door, making sure Terezi didn't hear. He needed to get his uniform for work. As he walked passed the bed and into the bathroom he noticed Terezi just lying there. She normally would have woken up by either the sounds or just by Karkat walking by.

When Vriska, Nepeta and Kanaya woke up a few hours later, Kanaya wanted to know how Terezi was doing.

"Well, why don't you go check on her?" Nepeta asked.

"I'd rather not," Kanaya replied.

"I'll go do it." Vriska got up and went into the bedroom.

"Come on, Terezi," she said. "It's almost ten. Wake up." She sat down on the bed. "Come on, we don't have all day, here. All you have to do is get out of the bed. Come on."

"Okay, fine. I guess Karkat's the only one who can deal with this." Vriska grabbed Terezi's cell phone, which was charging on the night table.

"Terezi?" Karkat stopped what he was doing as he waited for a voice on the other end.

Vriska rolled her eyes. "No, dumbass, it's Vriska."

"Oh." Karkat was  _really_ hoping it was Terezi. "What the fuck do you want, then?"

"Well, actually, it  _is_  about Terezi." Vriska paused. "Just…come over here. I really don't want to explain it to you."

* * *

 

Karkat decided it was best for Terezi to be admitted to the local hospital to figure out what was wrong with her. He was extremely worried.  _This is all my fault…_ he thought.  _If it weren't for me, she wouldn't be here right now._

"She appears to just be dehydrated," the doctor told Karkat. "All we need to do is just get some fluids into her and she'll be fine."

Karkat sighed with relief. "Thanks."

The doctor smiled. "No problem. My name is Dr. McNeese, if you need anything."

"Alright."

Dr. McNeese grabbed an alcohol swab and rubbed it on Terezi's right wrist to sterilize the skin. She quickly jabbed the IV into the vein and gasped.

"Her blood…it's bluish-green!" Dr. McNeese turned to Karkat. "Has she been taking anything, or…?"

"That's…her natural blood color," Karkat replied. "I've known her for forever, and it's always been teal."

"That's…phenomenal." Dr. McNeese sighed. "Well, I'll be back in about half an hour to check on her."

"Thank you."

Dr. McNeese smiled, nodded, and left the room.

Karkat sighed and looked back at Terezi. Her messy hair fell in front of her face just the right way. He sighed and looked down at her glasses in his hands.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. He ran his fingers through her hair and brushed it out of her face.

Terezi flinched and turned her head. "Karkat…?" Her eyes fluttered open. "Where am I?"

"At the hospital." Karkat sighed.

"Can I have my glasses?"

"Sure." Karkat unfolded the red sunglasses and slid them onto Terezi's face.

"Listen." Karkat sighed. "Terezi, I don't want you to be mad at me. I really don't."

"Karkat, I'm not mad," Terezi replied. "I'm just—I don't know! I was looking forward to the wedding  _so_ much!"

"Have you cancelled anything yet?"

"No."

"Good." Karkat managed a smile. "Terezi, I never thought I'd ask you this again, but…"

He got down on one knee and pulled out the same engagement ring from his pocket. "…will you marry me?"

Terezi smiled. "Yes—again!" She tried to throw her arms around Karkat and hug him, but the IV cord stopped her.

"Why is this in my wrist?!" she exclaimed, playing with the long and flimsy tube that was dripping cold liquid into her vein.

"Don't tear it up," Karkat told her. "The doctor said you're dehydrated, and the tube has some sort of liquid shit in it that you need for some reason."

Karkat looked down at the diamond and ruby ring that was still in his hand. "Oh yeah." He slid it onto Terezi's left ring finger and leaned over to kiss her.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Terezi said.

Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya came into the room. "Are you okay?" Nepeta asked, walking up to the hospital bed.

"I'm kind of tired." Terezi looked over at Karkat. "By the way, we're engaged again."

"Congratulations."

Karkat looked at Terezi. "Should I reschedule the appointment tomorrow?" he asked.

"No, I'll be fine."

"Sure?"

"Yeah."

There was yet another knock on the door. The door opened and Dr. McNeese entered the room.

"Hello everyone," she said with a weary smile. She looked at Terezi. "Oh, I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Tired and weak." Terezi didn't exactly know who the woman was, but she figured she was the doctor Karkat was talking about.

"Ah, that's normal for being dehydrated." Dr. McNeese looked at everyone else in the room, then back to Terezi. "I'm going to run another test to see if your water levels have come up any."

"Okay." Terezi sighed as Dr. McNeese stuck another needl into her vein, in the inside of her elbow. Blood was taken and put into several vials. Dr. McNeese cleaned up and silently left the room.

"When are you able to leave?" Kanaya asked Terezi.

"I don't know."

"Once she's hydrated again, and stays stable," Karkat told Kanaya.

"Oh."

"I hope I can get out today." Terezi sighed. "I still need to call work and tell them I'm not able to work the next couple of days."

"I still have your phone." Vriska pulled it out of her pocket and gave it to Terezi.

"Oh…thanks." Terezi took the phone and dialed her boss' number.

"Hello? Mrs. Wilson-Lee?" Terezi said. "Hi, I won't be at work today or tomorrow.—Oh, why?—I'm in the hospital.—Yeah.—Because I'm dehydrated.—Oh, don't worry, I'm fine.—Okay. Thanks. Bye."

Terezi sighed. "I'm going back to work next week. I wanted to go back earlier, but…I can't argue with my boss."

"Well, you can catch up on wedding planning," Karkat suggested.

The door opened again and Dr. McNeese came in. "Well, your water levels  _have_ come up, but they're still low," she told Terezi. "We'll probably have to keep you overnight to make sure the levels are fine."

Terezi sighed. "Okay."

"Alright." Dr. McNeese nodded and left the room.

Nepeta turned to Karkat. "Where are Gamzee and Sollux?" she asked.

"At John's house." Karkat looked up at the ceiling. "I hope they haven't burned his house down."

"I'm sure everything's fine."

Karkat stopped. "Ah, fuck, I meant to get the laptop before we came here…"

"I can go get it for you!"

"Nah, that's okay." Karkat looked back at Terezi. "I'm just happy you're okay."

Terezi smiled. "I'm happy the wedding's back on."

Karkat smiled a small smile. "Me too."


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man you guys sorry for not updating since the summer. AO3 still isn't my primary fanfiction site so I've been busy writing and doing FF.net stuff.

The next afternoon, Terezi laid on the couch and sighed.  Sure, she had been released from the hospital that morning, but Karkat, John, Sollux, and Gamzee were still out at their tux fitting (it was interesting watching Karkat and John trying to coax Gamzee and Sollux into it).

She threw the blanket off of her and stood up.  “Terezi, the doctor said you don’t need to be doing much,” Vriska reminded her.

“I don’t care.”  Terezi stumbled as she made her way over to the kitchen.  “Tomorrow I’m going to the florist to order the flower arrangements.”

“How much stuff do you need for this wedding?!”  Vriska popped the tab off of a Diet Coke can and took a sip.

“We still need to order the cake, hire catering, get a manipedi, oh, and we need to apply for the actual marriage license.”

“That is a ton of stuff.”

“Tell me about it.”  Terezi sighed and sat down at the table.  “Give me the laptop.  I need to make sure I know where I’m going tomorrow.”

“Fine.”  Vriska clicked out of a window and pushed the laptop towards Terezi.

“I’m getting hungry,” Nepeta said.

“I can order takeout from the restaurant I work at,” Terezi said.  “Than I can get the employee discount.”

“That sounds good!”

“But,” Terezi added, “I’d have to go with one of you to pick it up.”

The door opened and Karkat and John came in.

“Finally.”  Karkat set some paper bags down on the table, blocking Vriska’s view of Terezi and vice versa.  “We picked up Subway for dinner.”

“Whoo.”  Terezi grabbed a bag and went through it.  “Which one’s which?”

“They’re all the same.”

“Turkey, roast beef, or ham?”

“Turkey.”

“Yes.”  Terezi pulled a wrapped sandwich out of the bag and started unwrapping it.

“Oh!”  Terezi swallowed a mouthful of sandwich and wiped her mouth.  “I’m going to the florist tomorrow, is there anything special you want?”

Karkat thought for a moment.  “White roses,” he said with a hint of a smile.

“Haha.  Fine.”  Terezi paused.  “What would you think about…stem-dyed roses?”

“I’ve never thought of that.”  Karkat took a bite of his sandwich.  “What colors were you thinking of?...wait, I know the answer to this.”

“Red and teal,” everyone besides Terezi answered at the same time.

“So, Karkat, Terezi, have you guys gotten more planned for the wedding?” John asked.

“It kind of depends on how much ‘more’ is,” Karkat replied.

“I see.”

By now everyone was eating a sandwich.  “And you have work tomorrow?” Terezi asked. Karkat.

“Yeah.”  Karkat paused.  “I applied for my drivers’ license today.”

“Since when have you learned how to drive?!”

“Both John and Cole taught me.”

“Makes sense.”

“My test is Monday at five.”

“So you’ll have to take off early?”

“No, I just won’t work any overtime.”

“Oh, okay.  But we don’t have a car.”

“We could buy a used one for less than half as much as a new one…  But it’s still about $15,000.”

“Oh.  Ugh.”  Terezi crumpled her paper wrap into a ball and tossed it into the trashcan.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of want to rewrite this entire fanfic, but I have other priorities.


	23. Chapter 23

“John Egbert, where have you been?  It’s almost nine o’clock!  You should have been home two hours ago like you told me you would be!”

“Sorry, Dad,” John said as he scratched his neck.  His dad must have had a hard day at work or something.  “I had a…tuxedo fitting…”

“Oh, what for?” his father asked, in an awkward change of tone.  “Are you in a wedding?  Whose is it?”

John looked down at the floor.  This wasn’t going to be good…

“Karkat’s and…Terezi’s…” he answered nervously.

“But wait…  They’re brother and sister…”  John’s dad paused for a long moment.  “John Egbert, have you been lying to me this whole time?!”  Back to the hard day at work.

“I’m sorry, Dad, I had to!”

“For that long?!”

“Karkat and Terezi are my friends!  They never would’ve lasted a day here if it weren’t for your help!”

“Do they have jobs now?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“Well, you can go ahead and tell them that they can support themselves financially.”

“But Dad—“

“Go to your room.”

“But I’m nineteen—“

“Go.”

John sighed with frustration and went upstairs.

* * *

 

Back at Karkat and Terezi’s apartment, everyone had fallen asleep while watching a movie.  Terezi changed positions in her sleep, smacking Karkat in the face as she did so.

“Shit!” Karkat exclaimed as he woke up.  He almost tripped over Kanaya as he got up to see what time it was.

“12:42…”  He started to walk into the bedroom, but he glanced back at Terezi.  She was about to fall off of the couch and onto Vriska.  That would’ve been bad.

Karkat went back over to the couch and scooped up Terezi into his arms.  She’s lighter than I remember, he thought as he carried her into the bedroom and carefully laid her down on the bed.

He crawled into bed next to Terezi.  He took one last look at her before closing his eyes and going to sleep again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> According from my A/Ns this gets pretty OOC from hereon out.

Terezi returned from the florist that day exhausted.  “There were so many flower choices,” she complained to Vriska, Nepeta and Kanaya.  “The lady there was too focused on giving me suggestions than listening to what I had in mind!”

“But did you get what you wanted?” Nepeta asked.

“Eventually.”

Terezi looked at the clock on the microwave.  “It’s only three o’clock…  Gog, I’m starving.”

“I’m beginning to get hungry,” Kanaya said.

“Same,” Vriska added.

“There’s this little café near where I work that has little sandwiches and those kinds of things.  I don’t want to eat dinner yet.”

“Okay.”

* * *

 

The girls had been back at the apartment for twenty minutes when the door opened.

“Oh, Karkat—“  Terezi was cut short when Karkat squeezed her in a hug.  “What is it?” she gasped.

Karkat stopped hugging Terezi, but his hands were still on her shoulders.  “I don’t know exactly why, but somehow I got promoted to assistant manager!”

“Omigod!”  Terezi hugged Karkat even tighter than he had hugged her.  “That’s—that’s great!  How did that happen?!”

“You know how the previous assistant manager left like two weeks ago or something?”

“Yeah?”

“My boss said I would make a great replacement.”

Terezi shrugged.

“And you know what the best part is?”

“What?”

“I don’t have to wear this shitty uniform anymore!”

“That’s…great.  When do you start?”

“Not till Monday.  I have time.”

“What about your driving test?  Will it interfere with that?”

“No, I still get off at four.”

“Okay.  That’s good.”

Karkat looked at Terezi.  “Since my salary will be almost doubled, let’s go eat at some fancy restaurant even if the food tastes like shit!”

“Can we just do nice, not fancy?” Terezi asked.

Karkat flashed a small smile.  “Sure.”

* * *

 

Karkat sighed as he stared up at the ceiling in bed.  “Terezi,” he began, “I’ve been thinking…”

“Yeah?”

“We really need to move out of here and find a better place to live.  And soon.”

“Now I have to do wedding planning along with looking for a house.”

“No, I’ll be in charge of that.”  Karkat sighed.  “It’s just too crowded in here, and with my promotion I might actually have to do work outside of actual work.”

“Could we find a house closer to downtown?” Terezi asked.  “I like walking to and from work, but from here it’s too far.”

“Yeah, I wanna move closer too.”

Karkat yawned.  “I’m tired.  Let’s talk about it more tomorrow.”

“Okay.”  Terezi kissed Karkat’s cheek.  “Goodnight.”

“’Night.”

 


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did I ever think chapters of this length were acceptable...

That next Monday, Karkat laid on the couch admiring his brand-new drivers’ license.  The thin piece of plastic was still warm.

“Could you move?” Vriska asked.

“Augh, fine.”  Karkat got up, still admiring the plastic card that bore his name, photo, and other stuff.

“Terezi, I just thought of something!” he exclaimed.

“What?”

“This is a drivers’ license!”

“So?”

“It’s legal identification that can be used to obtain a marriage license!”

“Oh!”  Terezi smiled, but her smile quickly faded.  “But…I need something too…”

“Can’t they take work ID cards or something?”

“Hm, let me check.”

Terezi did a quick Google search on the laptop, and her face lit up.  “Yes!  Yes, they do!”  ((*note: I’m pretty sure they don’t take work ID cards, I just made them do that for the story.  So if you’re actually applying for a marriage license, don’t use your work ID card as your proof of existence or whatever.))

“Good!”  Karkat grabbed the stack of mail off the table and went through it.  “Junk, our stupid weekly dues for the apartment, junk, junk…oh, look, there’s several reply cards for the wedding.”

“From who?” asked Terezi.

“Um…Rose, John, ugh, Dave, and Cole.”

Karkat opened each envelope to see how many people were coming.  “Two from Rose, one from John, because John’s the best man, one from Dave, and six from Cole.  So that makes…ten.  Ten people coming,”

“Who’s all coming with Cole?”

“Um, I would think himself, his parents, one of his brothers, and one of his brothers.”  Karkat paused.  “Oh, and his youngest siblings are our flower girl and ring bearer.”

“I thought I was going to meet them first!”

“I kind of had to be quick on the decision, and Cole invited us over tomorrow night for dinner.”

“Mm, okay.”

 


	26. Chapter 26

Karkat and Terezi got into the carJohn had let them borrow until they bought one for themselves.  “Do you know what we’re having for dinner?” Terezi asked.

“I think steak.”  Karkat jerked the shift into reverse and began backing up the car.

“How far is his house?”

“It’s a few houses down from John’s.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Terezi, you need to put your seatbelt on.”

“Oh.”  Terezi turned to her right and pulled the seatbelt down and across her.

“We still need to get the cake and hire catering,” she said.

“Terezi, the wedding’s two months away.  Don’t get yourself stressed out so quickly.”

“But you’re looking for houses—“

“Hey, I’ve found some pretty fucking awesome ones already I want to check out,” Karkat replied with a small smile.

He pulled up to Cole’s house and parked the car on the street.  “That was fast,” Terezi said.

“C’mon.”  Karkat motioned for Terezi to get out of the car.  She did so and walked up to the front door with Karkat.

Karkat knocked on the door instead of ringing the doorbell.  “I’ll get it!” someone called from inside.

One of Cole’s brothers opened the door.  He looked at Karkat and Terezi with a curious expression and turned around.  “Hey Cole, it’s that guy and his girlfriend!”

“Okay!”  Cole came running down the hallway upstairs and slid down the banister just as his mom walked in.

“Cole Zachary Freeman!  What did I tell you about sliding down the banister?!”

“Sorry Mom,” Cole said, rolling his eyes.  He went over to Karkat and Terezi.  “Come on in.”

Karkat took Terezi’s hand.  “Watch your step.”

“I’m blind, dumbass.”

“I would watch your language here if I were you,” Cole said.  “Cody’s the only one besides me who doesn’t care.”

Terezi caught a whiff of what was cooking.  “It smells delicious!” she exclaimed.

“It should be done by now,” Cole said.  He stuck his head inside the kitchen.  “Are you done setting the table, Char?”

“Yeah, everything’s ready.  Dad just needs to finish the steaks.  Why don’t you go ask him when they’ll be done?”

“Can’t you do that?”

“Fine.”

One of Cole’s brothers ran into the kitchen.  “What’s for dinner?”

“Steak.”  Cole looked at Karkat and Terezi.  “Oh, Conner, you remember Karkat, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”  Conner looked a bit closer and his face lit up.  “Oh, yeah!  I love you, man!  Like, in a bro way.”

Terezi started laughing.  “What’s so funny?” Karkat asked.

Terezi giggled.  “’In a bro way’.”

Conner shrugged.  “What?"

Terezi smiled.  “Oh, nothing.”

“Cole!”

A younger girl who was obviously one of Cole’s sisters ran up to him.  “Charlotte won’t let me finish my show!” she whined.

“But Caroline, we have to eat dinner,” Charlotte said.

Cole looked down at Caroline.  “Well, we do have to eat dinner,” he began, “but, we have cake for dessert.”

“Yay!  Cake!”  Caroline skipped over to a chair at the table and sat down in it.

Mrs. Freeman came downstairs with Cole’s other brother, who obviously was not happy about something.  “Your father’s still not done with the steaks?” she asked Charlotte.

“He said he was almost done when I asked him last,” she replied.

Almost immediately after she said that, Mr. Freeman came inside through the back door with a bunch of steaks on two plates.  “The steaks are ready, now let’s eat!” he exclaimed.

Karkat found a seat in between Cole and Terezi.  Terezi leaned over to Karkat.  “What’s there to eat?” she whispered.  “I know steak, but I can’t really recognize anything else.”

“Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and corn.”  Karkat took the fork off of the steak plate and picked a steak up.  “Want a steak?”

“Of course, dumb—“  Terezi stopped herself, remembering what Cole had said about cursing.  A large grin came across her face.  “Of course, darling.”

Karkat rolled his eyes and put the steak on Terezi’s plate.  “Should I cut it up for you?” he asked sarcastically.

“I can do that!”  Terezi took her fork and knife and cut the steak with no difficulty whatsoever.

“So, how long have you two been together?” Mrs. Freeman asked Karkat.  “You and your fiancée, I mean.”

“Oh, Terezi?”  Karkat took a sip of his root beer.  “Oh, I’ve known Terezi since we were…thirteen-ish.  About…six years.  But we didn’t start dating until a couple of years ago.”

“Ah, so a while?”  Mrs. Freeman paused.  “So what do your parents do?”

“Our…parents?”  Terezi and Karkat stopped.  “Um…”

“Mom!” Cole whispered, mimicking zipping his lips.

“What?”  It took Mrs. Freeman a few seconds to get the message.  “Oh, okay.”

“So, how much have you two gotten planned for the wedding?” Mr. Freeman asked to change the subject.

“We’ve gotten most everything planned,” Terezi said, “but we still need to do a few more things.”

“Like picking out a flower girl dress,” Karkat told everyone, but directing it toward Caroline.

“Yay!” she exclaimed.  “I can’t wait to throw the things!”

Everyone laughed.  “They’re flowers, Caroline,” Conner said.

“Yeah.”  Caroline smiled.

After eating and talking for a while, Cole stood up.  “We have cake,” he said.

“What kind is it?” Karkat asked.

“Red velvet.”

“Red…velvet?”  Terezi perked up.  “I’d like a slice!”

“Haha, ‘kay.”  Cole began cutting the cake.

He handed out small plates and placed a slice of cake on each one.  Terezi inhaled deeply to smell the sweet scent of red, but was disappointed to find it wasn’t her idea of red.

“This isn’t red!” she exclaimed without thinking first.  “This is more of a maroonish velvet cake!”

“Wait…”  Cole stopped.  “How can you tell?! You’re blind!”

“Terezi!” Karkat whined.

“Terezi, have you been lying about being blind all this time?”

“No!”  Terezi sighed.  “It’s…it’s a long and complicated story.  It’d be best to explain it later.”

“Yeah,” Karkat agreed.

* * *

 

“Wow.”  Mr. Freeman was staring and Karkat and Terezi, as were Mrs. Freeman and Cole.  “I can’t believe it.”

Mrs. Freeman nodded.

“It’s a dream come true!” Cole turned to Karkat.  “I swear, you just keep getting more and more awesome!”

“Can…can I show you my eyes?” Terezi asked.  She had already told them.

“I’m scared,” Mrs. Freeman whispered.

“Go ahead,” Cole said, extremely interested.

Terezi sighed and took off her sunglasses.  She opened her eyes and Mrs. Freeman gasped.

“Oh my,” she sighed.

“Now that is freaking awesome!” Cole exclaimed.

“And that proves I am blind.”  Terezi put her sunglasses back on.  “So yeah.  We’re not from here, and I’m blind and can smell colors.”

“So I’m guessing it’s easy to work and such, since you can just smell the colors of your surroundings and paint a picture in your mind,” Mrs. Freeman said.

“Exactly.”  Terezi looked at the clock.  “It’s getting kind of late…  Oh, um, Mrs. Freeman, we need to figure out a date when we can go shopping for Caroline’s flower girl dress.”

“Oh, yes.”  Mrs. Freeman looked back into the kitchen.  “I’ll have to check my planner to see when we can do that.  I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”  Mrs. Freeman went into the kitchen.

“Caroline has been very excited about being the flower girl in your wedding,” Mr. Freeman told Karkat and Terezi to keep the moment from getting awkward.  “You heard her tonight at dinner, she keeps saying she can’t wait to throw the ‘things,’ as she calls the flower petals."

“That’s hilarious,” Karkat said.

Mrs. Freeman came back into the den.  “I can do this Saturday, sometime in the afternoon.”

“I’m free then,” Terezi replied.  “Would one o’clock be fine?”

“Perfect.”  Mrs. Freeman wrote something down in her planner.  “Do you want me to pick you up from your apartment?”

“That would be great.  It’s apartment 1C.”

“Okay, great.  I’ll be there at 12:50 this Saturday.”

“12:50.”

Karkat looked at the clock.  “Oh gog, it’s already 8:15?” he exclaimed.  “I think it’s time for us to get going.”

“Alrighty then.”

“Thank you so much for dinner,” Terezi said.  “It was very good.”

“You are so very welcome,” Mrs. Freeman replied.

“Oh, one more thing.”  Karkat scratched his neck.  “Please don’t tell anyone about…us.  I don’t want anyone to freak, and we could possibly get fired from our jobs, and…yeah.”

“We promise to keep it secret,” Mr. Freeman said.

“Of course, dude.”  Cole smiled.  “See ya at work tomorrow.”

“See ya.”

 


	27. Chapter 27

“C’mon, we’re going shopping!”

 

“For what?”

 

“For shoes.”  Terezi paused.  “Shoes to go with everything!”

“Can’t we go _tomorrow_?!” Vriska whined.

“No.”  Terezi grabbed her handbag off the table.  “I have work tomorrow.  Besides, today’s Sunday.  There’s always really good sales on Sunday.  And your dresses came in last week.  You need decent shoes to go with them.”

“But—“

“C’mon.  You’ve been stuck here for the past week or something.  It won’t take long, anyway.”  She turned around.  “Karkat!  Can you drive us downtown?”

“Yeah.  Just a minute.”  Karkat finished putting dishes back in the cabinet.  “What do you need to get?”

“Shoes,” Terezi replied.  “Shoes for the bridesmaids’ dresses, and I need a pair to go with my dress.”

“Oh, yes!  I need to get a pair to go with my tux, to.”

“Okay.”  Terezi turned back around, now facing Vriska.  “C’mon, now we have another reason to go!”

Vriska sighed.  “Fine."

* * *

 

“Hey, these aren’t bad,” Nepeta said, nodding toward a pair of blue stilettos.

“They won’t go with the dresses,” Terezi said.  “Blue, teal…  Try to look for something black.  And remember, we’ll be outside.”  She paused.  “I’m going over to the clearance section.  Just show me stuff when I come back over here.”

Nepeta shrugged and continued browsing within the high heels section.  “Vriska, what do you think about…these?” she asked hesitantly.

 

“I don’t know.  Ask Kanaya.”  Vriska bent down to look at the boxes of shoes on the shelf.

“I don’t know, ask Kanaya,” Nepeta mimicked.  She sighed and rolled her eyes.  “I was just trying to be nice.”  Now, to find them.  Something black, something black…

Finally her eyes found them.  They were kind of your basic black heels, but a little more than that.  They were covered in a black satiny fabric, and had really tiny frills around the edges.   A tiny velvety bow was on the shoe.  Perfect for a garden wedding.

These are purrfect,” Nepeta thought.

“Ooh, what are these?”

Nepeta turned and saw Terezi standing behind her.  “That was quick!”

“I found exactly what I wanted.”  Terezi opened the shoebox she was holding.  Inside was a pair of white heels with a red rosette detail on the toes.  “And on clearance, too.”

“They match your dress _pur_ rfectly!”  Nepeta picked up the shoe she found.  “I found these!”

“Those are perfect too!” Terezi exclaimed.  “Have you shown Vriska or Kanaya yet?  Of course, they can pick out whatever they want, I don’t really care, but still…”

“No,” Nepeta replied.  “Vriska’s being…Vriska, and I’m not sure about Kanaya.”

“Terezi!”  Vriska motioned for Terezi to come over to her.  “What do you think of these?”

Terezi picked up the shoe and examined it.  “I like it.”

“What size am I?”

“Well, you’re the same size as me, and I’m a ten.”

Vriska pulled out the size ten box, evidently uncomfortable about not being a size eight, but took the shoes out anyway.  She put them on and stood up.  “These are comfortable.”

“Great,” Terezi replied, “but can you walk in them?”

Vriska strutted down the aisle, stumbling a few times.  “I’ll get better at it,” she insisted.

“You’d better, because I’m paying for them!  And Nepeta’s, and Kanaya’s…”

“I found my size!” Nepeta called.  She stood up in the heels and took a few steps.  “I like these!”

“Okay.”  Terezi looked around.  “Where’s Kanaya?”

“I’m over here.”  Kanaya walked back over to the group, a shoebox in her hands.  “I found these.  I’ve already tried them on, and I like them.”

“Okay.  Let’s find Karkat.  I’m ready to check out.”

 


	28. Chapter 28

“Hm, one new message?”

Terezi clicked on it and held the phone to her ear.  After listening to the message, she put her phone down and smiled.

“My dress came in today,” she announced.  “I’m going in this Saturday to try it on.”

“Oh, really?!” Nepeta exclaimed.  “And we’re coming, too?!”

“Yes.”

“What about me?” Karkat called from inside the bedroom.

Terezi poured herself a glass of lemonade.  “I want it to be a surprise!”

Karkat rolled his eyes, somehow managing a small smile despite his slight disappointment.  “Fine.”

* * *

 

Terezi, Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya walked into the bridal shop that Satudray.  Terezi went up to the front desk.

“Hi,” she said, “I’m here for a fitting.”

“You must be…”  The lady at the desk glanced at the computer.  “…Terezi?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, great.  Follow me.”

The lady led the girls to the back of the salon, where there was a long row of dressing rooms.  She told Terezi to wait in one while she got the dress, and for Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya to wait on the bench outside the dressing room.

Terezi took a deep breath and put on the shoes she bought to go with the dress.  She undressed and put on the robe she was told to put on.

After a few minutes, the lady knocked on the door.  “Come in,” Terezi said, and the door opened.

“Alright,” the lady said as she hung the dress on a hook and unzipped the bag.  She took the dress off the hanger and slipped it over Terezi’s head.

Terezi took John’s mother’s veil out of its box and placed it on her head.  “It’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed.

The lady smiled.  “Let’s go show your friends, shall we?”

Terezi walked out of the dressing room and up onto the pedestal.  “What do you think?” she asked enthusiastically.

“It’s beautiful,” Kanaya said.

“It’s _purr_ fect,” Nepeta added.

“I love it!” Vriska exclaimed.

Terezi did a 360-degree turn on the pedestal and smiled.  “I think it looks even better with both the veil and the shoes,” she said.

She sighed and wiped her eyes.

“Are you _crying_?!” Vriska teased.

Terezi laughed.  “Shut up!”

She sighed again.  “I can’t wait!”

 


	29. Chapter 29

**((Yet another awkward 1 ½ week timeskip))**

“I’m so happy you got DeLuccio’s to do catering,” Terezi said as she laid her head on Karkat’s shoulder.

“Well, I figured since that’s where we ate the night I proposed, it would be another way to remember our wedding.”

“I can’t believe it’s only three weeks away,” Terezi sighed.

“Oh, shit!” Karkat exclaimed.  “It is.”

“We still need to order the cake.  We’ve put it off for so long it may be too late…”

“What kind?”

“I guess it depends on which kind of cake the place has is the best.”  She paused.  “But I wouldn’t mind red velvet…”

“That cake was actually pretty good…” Karkat hesitantly agreed.

“So, red velvet, if the kind the bakery has is good?”

“Red velvet.”

* * *

 

Terezi woke up the next morning with many things on her mind.  The cake, the catering, the wedding in general…

She quickly walked into work.  “Terezi!”

Anastasia Parker, better known as Ana, one of Terezi’s co-workers, motioned for Terezi to come over to her and Blair, another one of their co-workers.

“Oh, hey Ana.”  Terezi walked over to her co-workers.  “Hey, Blair.”

“So, how’s your wedding coming along?” Blair asked.

“Very well.”  Terezi sighed.  “Three more weeks!”

“Oh, I can’t wait!”  Blair paused.  “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what do your parents think about you getting married so young?"

“My—my parents?”  Terezi stopped.  How to begin the lie…

“Um, actually…” Terezi began sort of hesitantly, “my mom died a few years ago, and my dad left my mom before I was born.”

“That’s terrible!” Ana exclaimed.

Terezi tried her best to fake at nodding sadly.  “My mom never got married, but she was seventeen when I was born, so I’m sure she wouldn’t have minded all that much me getting married at eighteen…”

“That’s reasonable.”  Ana brushed some of her wavy reddish-brown hair out of her face.

“What about your fiancé’s parents?” Blair asked.  “Did they say anything?”

“Um, actually,” Terezi replied, “it’s another sad story…”  She sighed, thinking of how she was going to tell this lie.  “My fiancé’s parents have never really cared about him.  I mean, he hasn’t even talked to them in two years.”

“Oh my god!” Blair exclaimed.

“I’m so sorry!”  Ana gave Terezi an awkward quick hug.

“Oh, you know how independent I am, and he’s the same way too, more independent even.”

“If you say so.”

“He never really liked his parents anyway.”

“You know, how can you be okay with all this?!” Blair asked in a shocked tone.  “You’re just all like, ‘Oh, my mom died, no big deal!  Oh, I’ve never had a father who actually cares about me, no big deal!  Oh, my fiancé’s parents never cared about him either, no big deal!’”

“I’m kind of confused too,” Ana added.

“Oh god,” Terezi sighed.  “This may take awhile.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh my god,” Ana said, her eyes widened in shock.  “You just seem so—so normal!  I couldn’t even tell!”

“Me either,” Blair added.

“Girls!” Mrs. Wilson-Lee called from across the restaurant.  “If you don’t get to work, I’m cutting today’s pay in half for all three of you.”

Terezi, Ana, and Blair looked at each other.  “Yes ma’am,” they all responded at the same time.

The girls got up from the table and pushed the chairs back in.  Terezi started to walk back to the kitchen, but Mrs. Wilson-Lee stopped her.

“Terezi?” she asked.

“Yes?”  Terezi turned around and walked up to her manager-supervisor.

“Are you, by any chance, able to work from four to six tonight?” Mrs. Wilson-Lee asked.  “You’ll get paid.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Terezi replied.  “I can do that.”

Mrs. Wilson-Lee smiled.  “Great.”

* * *

 

“Terezi, Mrs. Wilson-Lee needs you to wipe the tables in the conference room,” Ana told Terezi in the kitchen.

“Why are we still working, anyway?” Terezi asked.  “I had no idea we were closing early!  If I’d’ve known, I wouldn’t’ve stayed two extra hours!”

“But you’re getting paid,” Ana remarked.

“True.”  Terezi grabbed a bottle of cleaning solution and a clean rag off of a cart.

“I’ll help you clean if you let me carry the spray and the rag,” Ana said.

Terezi didn’t say anything, but rather shoved the cleaning supplies into her co-worker’s arms.

As Terezi walked out of the kitchen, Ana set the supplies back down on the cart and followed Terezi to the room.

“I think the door’s stuck,” Terezi said, trying to shove the door open.  Anastasia flashed a quick smile and gave Terezi a gentle push, opening the door.

“Surprise!”

Terezi gasped and put her hand to her mouth.  “Oh my god!” she exclaimed.  “What the—what is this?!”

Ana grabbed a handful of confetti off of the table.  “Happy wedding, whoo,” she said with a shy smile, throwing the confetti on Terezi.

Terezi laughed. “Thanks everyone!”

“Let’s get a real quick picture.”  Mrs. Wilson-Lee got everyone to gather around Terezi for the picture.  “Terezi, would you mind taking off your sunglasses just for the picture?”

“My—my sunglasses?”  Terezi touched the red lenses of her glasses.  “Oh, um, I never take these off except for when I sleep.  My eyes look a little funny, and they freak some people out.”

“Ah, okay.”  Mrs. Wilson-Lee raised her camera again.  “One, two, three, smile!”

* * *

 

“Ana, can you make sure these boxes don’t fall?” Terezi asked, pulling out they key to the apartment with one of her hands.

“Sure.”  Ana used her free hand to hold the boxes steady that Terezi was carrying.

Terezi opened the door.  “Where the fuck have you been?!” Karkat exclaimed.

“Sorry!”  Terezi set down the tower of boxes on the kitchen table.  “There was this thing at work, and…”  She paused.  “I got paid.”

“Ah, okay.”  Karkat got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen.  He gave Terezi a quick kiss.

“Aww,” Ana said with a smile, slightly ruining the moment.

Karkat looked up at Ana.  “Terezi?” he asked.  “Who’s this…?”

“Oh, that’s Ana, one of my co-workers,” she replied.

Ana stuck out her hand.  “Anastasia Parker, nice to meet you.”

Karkat gingerly shook her hand.  “Karkat…Vantas.”

Ana looked confused.  “That’s…that’s an interesting name.”

“As is Anastasia,” Karkat replied with a blank look.

“Touché.”

Terezi turned to Ana.  “Thank you so much for your help,” she said.

Ana smiled.  “You’re welcome.  I had a lot of fun this evening.”

Terezi laughed.  “So did I.”

Ana laughed too.  “Ah, I can’t wait!”  She sighed.  “Well, I’d better get going.”

“Bye.”

Ana smiled and left.

Karkat turned back to Terezi.  “What are all these boxes and bags for?”

“Wedding gifts.”  Terezi went over to the cabinet and got a glass out of it.  “Apparently, my co-workers took note whenever I mentioned I wouldn’t mind having something, and today they threw me a wedding shower and gave me this stuff.”  She paused.  “I think there’s a toaster and a blender in there somewhere.”

“Sweet.”  Karkat picked up a box off the table.

“Don’t open them up until we’re married!"

“Why not?”

“Just because.”

“Because what?”

“Because I said so.”

Karkat grunted and went back over to the couch.

Suddenly there was banging on the door.  “Terezi?  Karkat?”  It was Nepeta.  “Can you let us in?”

“Yeah.”  Terezi set down her glass and unlocked the door.  “Where were you guys?” she asked as she opened it.

“We went to get something to eat.”

“Where’d you get the money?”

“John paid _fur_ it.”

“…John?”

Nepeta looked over her shoulder and quickly back to Terezi.  “He called Vriska ‘babe’ 187 times in the three hours we were out—I counted.”

“Ooh, there’s something going on there!” Terezi whispered with a smirk on her face.

Terezi, Nepeta, and Kanaya noticed a sad sigh from both Vriska and John.  “Well, I guess I won’t see you until tomorrow,” he said.

Vriska smiled.  “Your house, at four?”

“My house, at four.”  John pulled Vriska into a small hug.  “See you then, babe.”

“188,” Nepeta whispered to Terezi.

“See you then.”

John gave Vriska a tiny kiss on the lips, and then went back to his car.

Vriska turned and went into the apartment, an I’m totally in love smile on her face.

“So you and John are dating,” Terezi said with a smile.

Vriska instantly blushed and turned her head away.  “Shut up!”

“Hey, I don’t care.”  Terezi grabbed her glass off the kitchen table.  “If you’re happy, that’s great.”  She paused.  “I’m just curious:  How long have you two…?”

Vriska’s face was now more cerulean than ever.  “Almost the…whole time…I’ve…been here…”

“A while, then?”  Terezi went over to the couch and sat down next to Karkat.

“Mm.”  Karkat put his arm around Terezi.

Vriska sighed.  “I—I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“If you say so.”

 


	30. Chapter 30

“I wish our lunch break was at noon, not 2:30,” Ana said as she hung up her apron.   “I mean, really!  I don’t even start to get hungry again until like seven o’clock!”

Terezi nodded.  “Tell me about it.”  She grabbed her handbag off of a wall peg.  “So what do you want to do for lunch?”

“I’ve been craving McDonald’s ever since I woke up this morning,” Ana replied.

“Sounds good to me.”  Terezi pushed open the back door of the restaurant and went out, Ana behind her.

“Did I ever mention my fiancé is the assistant manager there?” Terezi asked.

“Really?” Ana exclaimed.  “How’d he get up to that position?  Isn’t he the same age as you?”

“Just a few months older.  He turned nineteen June 12.”  She paused.  “His boss said that he was one of the very few employees who took their job seriously, and that he meant business.  And the previous assistant manager quit.”

“Wow.  He must be good."

Terezi smiled.  “He is.”

“…Do you think we could get a discount?”

“I doubt it, but maybe.”

“Even without the discount, it’d still be less than ten dollars for both of us together.”

“True.”

Ana pushed the door of the McDonald’s open and held it for Terezi.  “I like how it’s only a few minutes’ walk from work,” she said.

Terezi sighed.  “Yeah, but…I’m going to have to start bringing my lunch to work…”

“Why?”

“Well, we had initially set a wedding budget of $5,000—yeah, I know that’s low and really hard to work with—but my dress was $200 more than I wanted it, and we’ve gone about $1500 over the total budget, and we’re spending at  _least_ $500 or so on our honeymoon, and we’re going to sign the papers for the house we’re buying seriously right after we get back from our honeymoon, and…”  She sighed again.

Ana nudged Terezi on the shoulder.  “What do you want?”

“Oh!”  Terezi stepped up to the register.  “I’ll have a number one, not the combo, with no cheese and no lettuce and a drink.”

“Alrighty.”  The cashier finished inputting the order.  “That’ll be $9.81.”

Ana pulled out her credit card and gave it to the cashier to be swiped.  He swiped it, gave it back to Ana, and gave the girls their cups.

“Thank you.”  Ana turned to Terezi and handed her her cup.  “I’ll have an iced tea.  And could you get us a seat?”

“Sure.”

A few minutes later, Ana sat down at the table with the food.  “Here’s your burger,” she said, pushing the tray toward Terezi.

“Oh.  Thanks.”  Terezi grabbed the burger and unwrapped it.

“So what are you doing for your honeymoon?” Ana asked, nibbling on a fry.

“We’re going to drive down to Los Angeles, and we’re going to stay for a few days.  Even though driving will take much longer, we don’t have enough money to fly there and back.”

“Ooh, that sounds like fun!”

“I can’t wait!  We’re leaving the day after the wedding since it takes so long to drive there.”

“Good idea.”  Ana paused.  “It’ll be awfully boring without you at work the next two weeks.”

“Karkat has to work the day before we get married, and the day after we get back from our honeymoon.  I wish he were getting two weeks off from work, paid.”

“Are you ladies doing alright?” a male voice asked from behind Terezi.

Terezi smirked.  “Karkat, I can smell you.”

“Dammit, I forgot!”  Karkat laughed, bending down to kiss Terezi.  Terezi giggled.

“We were just talking about our honeymoon,” she said.

“It’s going to be fun.”

Karkat looked up and around him.  “Well, I have to get back to work,” he said.  “See you this evening.”

Terezi smiled.  “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	31. Chapter 31

**((Finally.  Just a five-day timeskip.))**

Terezi sighed and sat down on the bed in the bedroom.  There were only three more days until the day of the wedding.  She was just now beginning to freak out about everything.

There would only be a little over fifty guests; not many, considering it was a wedding.  Cocktail hour wouldn’t include actual cocktails, since neither Karkat nor Terezi were of legal age on Earth to drink alcohol on Earth, and it wouldn’t even be a full hour—maybe forty-five minutes.  Just enough time to take pictures.

Would the food be good?  Of course, it was DeLuccio’s—the best Italian food Terezi had ever had (maybe because she hadn’t had any other Italian food besides Olive Garden, which wasn’t even real Italian food).  Terezi was looking forward to the same chicken parmesan she had eaten the same night Karkat proposed to her.

What she was really worried about, though, was the first dance.  She hadn’t ever danced with Karkat before, or even danced at all.

“Karkat?” she said softly.

“Yeah?”  Karkat came out of the bathroom in grey boxers and a white undershirt.

“Um, I need to ask you something…”

“Go ahead.”

“Do…you know how to…how to dance?”

Karkat gave Terezi a funny look.

“Well, I mean, I thought maybe you’ve seen enough romcoms to at least have an idea—“

“Terezi, I do know how to dance, it’s just…why are you asking?”

“Our first dance.”

“Oh!”  Karkat went over to Terezi and took her hand.  “C’mon, stand up.  I’ll teach you how to dance.”

Terezi couldn’t help but blush.  She followed Karkat to the empty corner of the room.

Karkat put his hands on Terezi’s small waist.  Terezi shivered with excitement.

“Now, put your arms around my neck.”

Terezi slowly hooked her arms around Karkat’s neck, which pulled the two a whole lot closer together.  Their chests were practically touching.

“Now we just sway back and forth, step side to side in time to the music.”  Karkat began to do so, and Terezi followed.  “It’ll be a whole lot easier when there’s actually music playing.”

The two continued for a few more minutes, Terezi grinning up at Karkat and Karkat looking at Terezi with soft, caring eyes—something that rarely happened.  Suddenly Karkat let go of Terezi.  “I’ll be right back.  Wait here.”

“Okay…?”

About a minute later, Karkat came back with a small bag.  “Terezi, I, um, wanted to give you this as, like a pre-wedding gift.  I found it at this little shop the day you went to get your wedding dress.  I thought you’d like it.”  He handed the bag to Terezi.

Terezi gasped as she removed the item in the bag.  “A Libra necklace!” she exclaimed.  “Oh, my gog, Karkles, I love it!  Thank you so much!”

“I figured you can wear it on our wedding day.”

Terezi smiled.  “I won’t forget.”

 


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is hella long. You can skip the entire ceremony if you want. Just not the vows. I wrote those out when I was 12

“Don’t mess up your nail polish!” Terezi cried.  “I paid almost sixty dollars for all of us to get them done, idiot!”

Vriska rolled her eyes.  “Sor- _ry_."

“When will that lady be getting here?” Nepeta asked.

Terezi shrugged.  “Should be any time now.”

Just then the buzzer by the door buzzed.  Terezi skipped over to it and pressed the button.  “Yes?”

“Hi, Terezi,” Mrs. Freeman said.  “Can you let us in?”

“Sure.”  Terezi pressed the button that unlocked the front doors of the apartment building.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Freeman knocked on the door.  “I’ve got it!” Terezi called, running over to the door and opening it.

“Sorry it’s such a mess in here,” Terezi said with an embarrassed smile.

“That’s fine,” Mrs. Freeman replied, smiling.

Terezi’s dress was in a bag, hanging on the open bedroom door.  The bridesmaids’ dresses were spread out on the bed, labeled “Vriska”, “Nepeta”, and “Kanaya”.

“I want to at least get to the country club by 3:30,” Terezi said.  “We want to do our hair and stuff here, and we’ll get dressed and everything of the sort at the country club.”

“That’s what I did, too,” Mrs. Freeman replied with an approving nod.

“Mama, when can I put on my dress?” Caroline whined.

“When we get there!”  Mrs. Freeman hushed Caroline and turned back to Terezi.  “So what are we doing for the hair and makeup?”

“Well, we’re not doing much for makeup.  We have black lipstick, and eye shadow the colors of, well, our blood.  And for hair, I’m curling mine, and they’re all straightening it, except for Kanaya.  And Caroline, oh, I think she’d look adorable if we curled her hair and pulled it up into a half-ponytail!”

“I think so too.”

Terezi plugged in her straightener and sat down behind Vriska.  She grabbed a handful of Vriska’s hair and began to brush it.

“Ow!” Vriska screamed, grabbing her head and turning around.

“Just shut up and hold still.  I need to brush out your hair so we can straighten it.”

“Fine!”  Vriska rolled her eyes and whipped her head back around.

About half an hour later, Terezi was finished straightening Vriska and Nepeta’s hair.  “Terezi, do you want me to curl your hair for you?”  Mrs. Freeman asked.

“Oh, that would be great!”  She sat down in the chair in front of Mrs. Freeman and took off her glasses.

“It’s already almost 2:30,” Nepeta said.

“Oh my gog!”  Terezi turned to Mrs. Freeman.  “How long will this take?”

“Maybe…ten minutes tops?”  Mrs. Freeman took a section of Terezi’s hair and wrapped it around the iron.

“Good.”  Terezi sighed and turned back around.

About seven or eight minutes later, Mrs. Freeman set down the curling iron and unplugged it.  “All done,” she sighed.

“Okay.”  Terezi stood up and went over to the bedroom.  “I’ve got my dress, veil, and shoes!”

“I’ll get all the bridesmaids’ dresses, so we can carry more,” Nepeta offered.

“You need your shoes, too,” Terezi added.  “And could someone please grab the jewelry box on the counter?”

“I’ve got it.”  Kanaya went over to the counter and grabbed the box.

“Okay.”  Terezi grabbed her wedding dress off the door.  “Is there anything else we need that isn’t already at the country club?”

* * *

 

“What time is it?” Terezi asked, nervously fidgeting with her bouquet.

“It’s almost four o’clock,” Nepeta replied.  She cracked the door open and peeked out.  “Karkat’s going out now.”

“Oh, gog.”  Terezi shuddered.

“You are going to be amazing up there,” Vriska said awkwardly to reassure her “friend”.

“I think you look like a princess,” Caroline sweetly said.

“Why thank you,” Terezi said with a smile.

The door to the small room opened.  “We’re ready.”

Terezi took a deep breath.  “I’m ready, too.”

They walked into the hallway, then outside to the gates of where the ceremony was held.  Terezi took deep breaths.  Before she knew it, Kanaya smiled back at her and walked out.

Kanaya made it up to the ceremony space and Nepeta went out.  “You’ll do great,” Vriska whispered to Terezi, trying to be encouraging.  She gave her one last heartened smile, and then walked out.

Once Conner and Caroline went out, Terezi knew this was it.  She heard the officiant say, “Please rise.”  She took one last deep breath and entered through the gates.

Terezi was almost dumbfounded by how many people actually bothered to show up.  All of the Freemans, Anastasia, Blair, Aradia, Equius, plus all of her co-workers, just to name a few.

Karkat smiled as she slowly made her way down the aisle.  She felt her tear ducts building up with pressure, but of course since she was Terezi she tried her hardest not to cry in public.

Finally she reached Karkat.  Terezi handed her bouquet off to Vriska and took both of Karkat’s hands.

“You may be seated.”  All of the wedding guests sat down.

“We are gathered here today,” the officiant continued, “to celebrate with Terezi and Karkat a very special moment in their lives.  In the years they have been together, their love and understanding toward each other has grown, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife.”

Terezi smiled a very nervous yet excited smile at Karkat.  She did all she could to keep her face from turning teal in front of so many people.

“People get married in order to form a unique bond of love.  The decision to marry indicates that the couple has chosen each other from the entire universe of other people as the one whom they want to be with for the rest of their lives.  The honor of this partnership requires active love, trust, and loyalty.  It also represents a permanent commitment to care for each other.

“A great marriage is not when the so-called ‘perfect couple’ comes together.  It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences.  In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things.  It is never being too old to hold hands.  It is remembering to say ‘I love you’ at least once each day.  It is never going to sleep angry, no matter how hard it may be.  It is standing together, facing the world.  It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.  It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.  It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.  It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

“Each of you must be willing to commit yourselves to making your relationship with each other the number one priority in your lives, so that in addition to the mystery of you as individuals, there is now the mystery of your love that will constantly evolve and grow.  It is most fitting that you nest the security of your relationship on the strength of your love, your wisdom, and well as your mutual respect.  Allow yourselves the comfort of this love, and from it gain strength enough that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.  Take joy in the activities in which you’ll share, but respect each other’s need for privacy, as well as independence.  Always remember that intelligent communication will bring you together just as silence will set you apart.  Express truthfully what you feel and believe, but strive to choose words with gentle reason, in all due respect and consideration for each other.  That is what marriage really means:  Helping one another to reach full status of being people, responsible and independent beings who do not run away from life.”

The officiant looked up at Karkat and Terezi.  “Even though both of you are quite young, I can tell you two are very in love and have been very in love for a very long time.  Now, Karkat, I’m going to start with you, since you’ve been waiting up here all this time to meet your bride.”

“Do you, Karkat Vantas, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Karkat smiled.  “I do.”

The officiant turned to Terezi.  “And do you, Terezi Pyrope, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Terezi smirked.  “I do.”

“Wonderful.”  The officiant looked out to the audience.  “Karkat and Terezi have chosen to write their own vows.”  He looked at Karkat.  “Back to you.”

Karkat pulled a piece of paper out of his tux and unfolded it.

“Terezi, I remember when I first laid my eyes on you,” he nervously began.  “I thought you were the prettiest thing on the planet—of course, then I didn’t want to admit that to anyone, not even myself.  You are the strongest, most independent person I know, and I admire that.  I love it how you attempt to make cutesy eyes and bat your eyelashes through those sunglasses when you want me to do something for you I wouldn’t do otherwise.  I love your laugh and I love your smile.  I love all of your crazy pet names for me, even though I act like I hate them.  But most of all, I love you.

“I’m not going to ask you to make any promises, and—I know you weren’t expecting this, but—I’m not, either!  I just want you to know I love you and will always love you.  Terezi, you are the love of my life, and always will be.  I’m proud to, well, almost be able to call you my wife.”

Even though she said she wouldn’t, Terezi let go of one of Karkat’s hands and pulled a tissue out of her sash.  She quickly wiped her eyes and stuffed it back in.

The officiant looked at Terezi.  “Now, Terezi.”

Terezi turned her head to the guests.  “I, um, memorized mine,” she laughed.  She turned back to Karkat and took a deep breath.

“Karkat, I love you so, so, so so, so much.  Thank you for always being there for me.  I know I can really annoy you sometimes, so thank you for putting up with that, too!”  She, along with everyone else, laughed.  “I’ve known you for almost as long as I remember, and you’ve always been an amazing person whom I admire.  Now, I know you said I didn’t have to make any promises, but too bad, I’m making promises anyway.

“I promise to always stand by your side and be your faithful wife.  I promise to help you in good times as well as bad, in joy as well as sorrow.  I promise to support you in everything that you do, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and to cry with you.  But most of all, I promise to never stop loving you from now until the day I die.”

The officiant smiled.  “Now we will move on to the ring exchange.”  He looked over at John.  “May I have the rings, please?”  John handed the officiant the rings and stepped back into place.

“Karkat, place this ring on Terezi’s left and repeat after me:  Because this ring has no end or beginning—“

“Because this ring has no end or beginning—“

“—it signifies the continuation of true love.”

“—it signifies the continuation of true love.”

“I give it to you as a token of my love and devotion.”

“I give it to you as a token of my love and devotion.”

“I pledge to you all that I am—“

“I pledge to you all that I am—“

“—and all that I ever will be as your husband.”

“—and all that I ever will be as your husband.”

“With this ring—“

“With this ring—“

“—I gladly marry you—“

“—I gladly marry you—“

“—and join my life to you forevermore.”

“—and join my life to you forevermore.”

The officiant looked at Terezi.  “Terezi, place the ring on Karkat’s left and repeat after me:  Because this ring has no end or beginning—“

“Because this ring has no end or beginning—“

“—it signifies the continuation of true love.”

“—it signifies the continuation of true love.”

“I give it to you as a token of my love and devotion.”

“I give it to you as a token of my love and devotion.”

“I pledge to you all that I am—“

“I pledge to you all that I am—“

“—and all that I ever will be as your wife.”

“—and all that I ever will be as your wife.”

“With this ring—“

“With this ring—“

“—I gladly marry you—“

“—I gladly marry you—“

“—and join my life to you forevermore.”

“—and join my life to you forevermore.”

The officiant nodded in approval.  “Now, the couple has chosen to do the lighting of the Unity Candle.”  He gestured for Karkat and Terezi to move over to the small table and pick up their lighted tapers.

“Don’t drop it,” Karkat whispered to Terezi.

“Why would I drop it, stupid?!”

The bridesmaids snickered, as they were close enough to hear her.

“Leaving both of the tapers lit after lighting the candle symbolizes that although a new relationship has formed, neither partner loses their individuality.”  The officiant closed his book and looked up at the guests.

“Well, it’s the time we’ve all been waiting for, isn’t it?”  He looked to Karkat and Terezi.  “By the power vested in me by the state of Washington, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”  He looked at Karkat.  “You may now kiss your bride.”

Karkat gave Terezi a big smile.  Terezi smiled and threw her arms around Karkat just as their lips locked.

Karkat got his tongue into her mouth.  She had to admit, she liked it, but she didn’t want everyone to see that type of kissing.  Finally both Terezi and Karkat stood up straight again.

“It is my pleasure to announce, Mr. and Mrs. Karkat and Terezi Vantas!”

 


	33. Chapter 33

“This is nice,” Mrs. Freeman commented as she ate hors d’oeuvres at the so-called “cocktail hour”.  “I honestly didn’t think they would be able to pull this off, but they did!”

Mr. Freeman took a sip of his Coke.   “I agree, but I was at least expecting actual cocktails, I mean, it’s called a cocktail hour for a reason, you know!”

Mrs. Freeman raised an eyebrow.  “Christopher, they’re only eighteen.”

Mr. Freeman almost choked.  “What?!  Really?!  It thought they were older than Cole, not younger!  I mean, they look like it!”

“They’re another species, dear.”

Charlotte went over to her parents.  “They just opened the doors into the reception,” she told them.  “I’ve already gotten my placecard; the others are by the door.”

“Oh!”  Mrs. Freeman looked at her husband.  “We’d better go get our placecards, then.”

* * *

 

“You ready?” Terezi asked as she turned her head toward Karkat.

Karkat smiled.  “Yeah.”

Out on the other side of the doors, in the ballroom, Dave cleared his throat before speaking into the mic.  Terezi had asked him to be the last-minute DJ for her and Karkat’s wedding.  He told her and Karkat he’d work for free since he knew both of them.  Karkat was hesitant at first, since he still didn’t like Dave very much, but since it was for free…he had to agree.

“It is my pleasure to announce, for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Karkat and Terezi Vantas!”

Karkat and Terezi looked at each other one more time before walking out onto the dance floor, holding hands.  Terezi had her toss bouquet in her empty hand, and she couldn’t wait to set it down on the table and not worry about it until it was time for the bouquet toss.

Terezi handed the bouquet off to Vriska once again, who, along with the other bridesmaids and groomsmen, went to sit down at the wedding party table.  “The newlyweds are going to do their first dance now.”  Dave played around with some stuff on his DJ equipment and the music began.

Karkat put his hands on Terezi’s waist, and Terezi put her arms around Karkat’s neck.  The two slowly swayed back and forth.

“I can’t believe we’re married now!” Terezi whispered.

“Me either.”  Karkat paused.  “Just think, once this wedding stuff is over, we can save up our money that isn’t going towards our new house payments or bills or paying off all this debt and that kind of shit can go towards redoing the place.  I mean, you know the only reason why we got such a huge house—and in the historic district, too—for so cheap is because it needs a lot of repairs.”

“But let’s not think about that now.  Let’s think about what a fun time we’ll have tonight and how much more fun we’ll have on our honeymoon now that we’re married, and, in a month or so, out of that terrible apartment.”  Terezi paused, her smile growing even larger.  “I love you, fuckass.”

Karkat smiled too.  “I love you too, you crazy bitch.”

He leaned in and their lips met.  A lot of the guests clapped for whatever reason they wanted to.

“Terezi, you look beautiful,” Karkat said out of the random, but it was true.

Terezi blushed.  “Th-thank you.”  She played with her fingerless-gloves-arm-warmer-whatever-things.  “You look nice, too.”

“But not as nice as you.”

“Stop acting so—so—clichéd and cheesy!” Terezi laughed.

“I never knew I was.”  Both Karkat and Terezi laughed.  “But hey, it’s the truth.”

The music ended and everyone clapped.  Karkat and Terezi stopped dancing and smiled.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Vantas!”  The guests continued clapping.  “The first course is now being served.”

Karkat and Terezi hurried to their seats just as waiters and waitresses came out with trays of soup.

“I never knew DeLuccio’s had tomato soup,” Karkat said to Terezi after both of them were served their soup.

“Me neither.”  Terezi tasted a spoonful of it.  “But it’s really good!”

Karkat tasted some.  “You’re right, it is.”

Terezi smiled and ate another spoonful.  “I think tonight’s going great so far!”

“Me too.  I can’t believe we had so many people show up.”

“Well, you know, I sort of invited all of my co-workers, and several of them are already married…”

“Oh, that’s why.”  Karkat stirred his soup.  “I can’t wait for us to cut the cake.”

“But that’s after the main course.  And during the main course we have to go around to say thank you to everyone.”

“Whoo-hoo.  I’m really looking forward to that.”

“Oh, c’mon, Karkles.  All you have to say is ‘Thank you for coming’.”

“I know, but still.”

Terezi smiled and rolled her eyes.

“I hope everyone else is having fun,” she said.  She turned around and looked at Vriska, Nepeta, and Kanaya.  “They seem to be enjoying themselves.”

“Good for them.”

“Why are you so moody all of a sudden?!” Terezi laughed.

Karkat shrugged.  “Oh, you know me.”

“And I’m ecstatic I do.”  Terezi leaned in and gently kissed Karkat.

“Oh, stop it.”

“You know you love it.”

“I know I love you.”

“Karkat, stop it!”

“No, you stop it.”

“No, _you_ stop it!”

They kissed just to shut each other up.

“Okay, so, what’s the plan?” Karkat asked.

“For what?”

“For the thank yous.”

“Oh!”  Terezi swallowed a mouthful of her tomato soup.  “Well, after we finish eating the main course, we’ll just get up and go around to the tables.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

Soon after, the waiters and waitresses came back in with the main course—a choice of either beef ravioli, chicken parmesan, or filet mignon (sorry, vegetarians).

“It looks like the main course is here,” Karkat whispered.  “When should we get up?”

“We have to eat first, idiot.”

Karkat rolled his eyes.  “Fuck you,” he said playfully.

Terezi grinned.  “No, fuck _you_.”

“Can’t we just have one decent married people conversation?!”

“I don’t think that’s ever going to happen.”

“Oh, it will.”

A waitress brought Karkat and Terezi their main courses.  “Can I try some of your filet mignon?” Terezi asked Karkat.

“Only if you give me some of your chicken.”

“Fine.”

The two cut off bits of their entrees and put them on each other’s plates.  “This is good,” Terezi said.

“Mm.”  Karkat took a sip of his drink.  “The chicken’s a little too cheesy for me.”

“You’re crazy.”  Terezi took another bite of her chicken.  “Do you want to go around now?"

“Let me finish first!”

“C’mon, Karkles!  You won’t have enough room for the cake!”  Terezi grabbed Karkat’s arm, yanking him up and dragging him toward the guest tables.

“Gog, Terezi!  Calm down!”

“Sorry.”

Terezi let go of Karkat’s arm.  He straightened out his vest.

“Oh, Terezi, you have something in your hair.”

“I do?”

“I’ve got it.”  Karkat ran his fingers through Terezi’s hair.  “There.”

 


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter.

"Oh, god." Karkat groaned. "Ugh. It's time for the best man and maid of honor speeches."

"And what's so bad about that?" Terezi asked.

"I—don't know." Karkat sighed. "I just want to get this over with."

John grabbed a slip of paper off of the table and went up to the podium. He tapped the mic. "Test? Test? Is this thing on? Ah, okay! Here we go!

"For those of you who don't know me,-and that's a majority of the people in the room-I'm John, and I'm _obviously_ the best man. I've known Karkat since we were thirteen, and it actually wasn't the most pleasant experience, but...let's not talk about that experience right now.

"Only within the past year or so have I gotten to know him more personally. I'll just say he's a great guy who means well. He's actually a pretty emotional guy underneath that shell of 'don't piss me off or I'll ruin you' kind of thing.

"Karkat and his bride—who, by the way, looks absolutely dazzling tonight—have been together for as long as I can remember, and by God, are they perfect for each other. Each one of their fights I've witnessed ends with a laugh and 'I love you'. I guess you could say, in their therms, that they've been 'totally flushed for each other' for a very long time.

"Karkat, it is a privilege to be up here this evening as your best man." He turned to the guests. "I'd like to propose a toast to the newlyweds. May they have many years of undying love for one another and, oh yeah. happiness." He raised his glass and everyone else followed.

Karkat sighed. "Okay. That wasn't too bad." Then he noticed Vriska going up after John sat down and it began all over again.

"Thank you, John, for your 'enlightening' speech there. I'd like to start by saying thanks for the compliments, I know we all look-gorgeous-tonight, but John and I both agree on two things: One, Terezi does look amazing, and the dress is beautiful. I just feel sorry for whoever it is that's paying for it." She looked over at Karkat. "Just kidding, Karkat, it wasn't too expensive. And I think we all agree that Karkat and Terezi are 'made for each other'—the perfect couple.

"I've known Terezi for... God, I don't even know how long. I used to— _strongly dislike_ —her, believe it or not. Yeah, you're probably wondering why the hell I'm even the maid of honor here, but that would go back way too far... I don't want to talk about it.

"I know how insecure Terezi can feel sometimes, actually, I mean, this morning she was a nervous wreck and was wondering if Karkat would even bother to show up and listing all the things that could have gone wrong. So, Terezi, I'll tell you again what I told you earlier today: That guy you're about to marry loves you. You'll do great out there—except in this case, 'out there' is life as a married chick and not walking down the aisle to say all that crap you've been practicing for the past forever.

"Terezi, it's a real honor to be your maid of honor. I feel like I have gained some sense of responsibility after being forced into this wonderful position.

"Everyone out there, please raise your glasses of Red Bull or Coke or punch or whatever you may be drinking, please raise your glasses once again for Terezi and Karkat.

"Long may their love and happiness last.

"However long that may be."

Everyone clapped and Vriska sat down. "I think you got the better one," Terezi whispered to Karkat, an embarrassed smile on her face.

"Why are people taking pictures of us?" Karkat asked Terezi through gritted teeth as the two cut the cake.

"They might just like what we're doing or something?"

The two plopped the slice of cake down on a small plate and picked the plate up at the same time.

"Okay," Karkat said in a serious tone, looking Terezi dead straight in the face, " _please_ try not to smear it on my face."

Terezi smirked and cut off a piece of the cake slice with her fork.

"Too bad."

Terezi shoved the forkful of cake into Karkat's mouth. The icing got onto the side of his mouth and he reacted with wide eyes. Karkat smirked and grabbed bit of the slice of cake with his hands.

Then he smeared it on Terezi's mouth.

Terezi squealed and wiped the icing off her face.

"Karkat!" Terezi laughed. "Fuck you!"

Karkat laughed. "C'mon, Terezi! _Enjoy_ the cake! _Enjoy_ it!"

"I'm trying! But I can't really enjoy it when—"

Karkat kissed Terezi, licking off some of the icing as he did so.

"Mm!" Terezi squealed. "Karkat!"

"Would you stop saying my name?! We're married now, there's so many other better things to talk about!"

* * *

"Congratulations!" Anastasia gave Terezi a quick hug.

"Thank you!" Terezi paused. "Are you having fun?"

"Oh my god! I've never had this much fun at a wedding before! I really like your friends, and your DJ is _amazing_!"

"I'm happy to hear that!"

Karkat approached Terezi and tapped her on the shoulder. "You ready?" he asked with a smirk.

"Oh!" Terezi exclaimed.

"What?" Anastasia asked suggestively. She smiled.

"It's time for the bouquet and garter toss!"

* * *

"One, two, _three_!"

Terezi threw the bouquet behind her. She turned around after a few seconds and was surprised to find Vriska with the bouquet, an expression of triumph on her face.

"Okay!" Karkat rushed back over to Terezi and pulled her over to a chair in the middle of the dance floor. He sat her down in it.

"Why do you want to get up my skirt so badly?" Terezi asked with a smirk.

"You caught me." Karkat smirked and dove in under Terezi's skirt.

Half a minute later, Karkat came back out from under Terezi's skirt with the garter in his hands.

He flung it into the group of single guys.

And it just so happened to land in John's hands.

Vriska and John blushed. Terezi dragged Vriska over to the chair and forced her to sit down.

Some of the single guys had to push John toward Vriska. Eventually he just gave her a nervous smile.

"Just…hurry up and put it on, dammit," she mumbled, her face turning every possible shade of blue.

Terezi turned to Karkat. "They're so cute together.

Karkat smiled. "But not as cute as us."

Terezi blushed. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Then they kissed.


	35. Epilogue

“Karkat, what the hell are you doing?!”

Karkat picked up Terezi in his arms, bridal style.  “I’m carrying you over the threshold.  It’s like, a rule.  You have to do that after you get married.”

Terezi smiled.  “Please continue, then.”

Karkat opened the apartment door and carried Terezi straight into the bedroom.  He plopped her down on the bed and sat down next to her.

“Are you ready for our honeymoon?” she asked him.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”  Karkat paused and looked back at Terezi.  “But let’s not think about that right now.”

He climed on top of her and gave her a loving smile.

“Karkat…  What are you doing?” she asked.

Karkat brushed Terezi’s hair out of her face.

“We’re married now.  Let’s make our third time count.”

Terezi smirked.  “Bring it on.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I know this sucked...12 year old me sucked.
> 
> I swear the sequel to this is better, even though it's a JohnVriska. But obviously Karezi is in there too. So is Rosemary.


End file.
